MORGAN HILL
– The Titanic sank again over the weekend and this time nobody
minded. Instead, this Titanic entertained hundreds of little kids
excited about a favorite ride at the 25th annual Mushroom Mardi
Gras.
By CAROL HOLZGRAFE and MARILYN DUBIL
Staff Writers
MORGAN HILL – The Titanic sank again over the weekend and this time nobody minded. Instead, this Titanic entertained hundreds of little kids excited about a favorite ride at the 25th annual Mushroom Mardi Gras.
Older festival-goers were drawn more to the Main Stage and waited Sunday to hear Gin Blossoms and Greg Kihn plus three other bands playing music of the 1980s and early 1990s.
Nine-year-old Westyn Herscovitch of Morgan Hill, in line at the climbing wall, said he has been attending the festival “for years.”
“There are some really super rides,” he said. “If somebody hasn’t been to it before, I would say they should come because of the rides and the good food.”
After 25 years of festivals, Mardi Gras organizers say they had just about a perfect weekend event at Community Park, judging by the smiles, the weather and, above all, the sales. Mardi Gras’ primary purpose is to raise money for college-bound high school seniors and sales are important, said Tilly Mayeda, one of a team of three who make sure the event comes off as well as possible.
Over the 25 years, Mardi Gras has presented more than $500,000 in scholarships.
“The gate (number of people paying) was down a bit Sunday from last year,” Mayeda said, “but, overall, everything was fine.”
About 30,000 people visited the 2003 Mardi Gras. Gate receipts for this year have been totaled.
Mayeda said both the arts and craft and food vendors did well, too.
“Everybody we talked to said they were happy with the crowd and hoped to be invited back,” she said.
Being an old hand at organizing events, Mayeda said there are ways of telling whether vendors are pleased with sales.
“If craft vendors aren’t happy they tend to leave lots of trash around afterwards,” Mayeda said, “and every bit of trash was in the barrels where it belonged.
Food vendors who have left-over supplies start selling food at half-price near the end of the second day, Mayeda said, and that did not happen.
“Everything was regular price all day,” she said.
Mardi Gras visitor Don Edgar said on Sunday he thought the crowd was down a little.
“It just doesn’t seem so crowded,” he said. “And there are fewer vendors this year. But the ones that are here, the quality of the merchandise is high. Fewer vendors, better quality.”
“What a bargain,” was the enthusiastic comment of Councilwoman Hedy Chang, who had scored two lawn ornaments at a price she liked. Chang said she noticed that, on Saturday at least, the crowd seemed younger than in past years. Mayeda agreed and said it was probably because of the music.
Wine sales were almost double those of 2003 and the Corona beer tent, staffed by friends of police and fire departments, had their best-ever year.
“Warmer weather on Sunday helped,” Mayeda said.
The wine tent was continuously occupied both days because it was quiet, peaceful and shady with room to sit and chat with friends “and every so often they would go and buy another glass of wine,” she said. “Totally satisfactory for everyone.”
In fact, the wine tent was so busy that not a single 25th anniversary commemorative glass remained to sell by Sunday afternoon; 2003 glasses were sold at a discount instead.
“We still have 25th anniversary beer glasses for sale, though,” Mayeda said.
The usual beer mugs were on back order and less popular glasses were substituted. Anyone wanting a glass – or a case – at big discounts should call the Mardi Gras office at 778-1786.
Manning the Monterey Mushroom booth, Shelly Cotta said she’d had a busy day, with many festival-goers stopping by to talk about mushrooms. The booth had fresh mushroom for sale, as well as information about cooking with mushrooms, and an educational display demonstrating the growth process of the edible fungus.
Next door to the booth, chef Troy Brown demonstrated mushroom recipes over an open grill.
“We’ve had a lot of people visiting us,” Cotta said. “I think many are drawn by the cooking display, but many are also interested in the growth process. Lots of questions, which is great.”
Cotta said Monterey Mushrooms will be back at the festival next year.
“Absolutely,” she said. “This has been great.”
The Morgan Hill Police Department might agree. Cpl. Rodney Reno, one of the officers working the festival on a bike, said Sunday that the weekend had been a quiet one, as far as police were concerned.
“No problems,” he said. “It’s been nice.”
No one fell in the pond either. Unlike last year, the pond was not fenced though the city lowered the water level to expose a wider cement surround.
“The ducks and geese were happier, too,” said Jim Tarp of Jet Electric, and the birds help pick up food dropped on the grass.
Tarp was helping to clean up Monday morning but said there were no electrical emergencies during the festival.
Mayeda said the Mardi Gras team allowed many local nonprofits to run Mardi Gras booths this year and keep the proceeds.
“It’s important to give them a chance to make some money,” she said.
