9-24-15 walleye weekend

Fond du Lac Festivals, Inc. officials say Walleye Weekend 2015 provided $205,549.91 to the non-profits participating in the festival. Officially there were 54 groups representing 45 non-profits including service organizations, schools, churches and other non-profits. The official attendance for the 3 day festival, including two days with partial rain, was 65,000.   One of the new events this year, Hearts to Heroes, a motorcycle pre-party and rally ending at Lakeside Park, earned a net of $7,500. “The proceeds from the Hearts to Heroes will go a long way toward being able to make the purchase of a new van that provides transportation for elderly veterans to VA clinic and hospital appointments” states Rick Patton, Director of Veterans Services, Fond du Lac County. Also new to the festival this year was a Wine Bar and a special area with venues aimed at teenagers, called the Livewell.  A new initiative to the festival this year was an intercept survey conducted by Marian University. 87% of festival respondents rated the festival as a 4 or 5 on a 1 (disappointing) to 5 (awesome) scale with an average rating of 4.28.  “While those of us executing the festival are biased in our perceptions, it’s heartening to have this feedback from our guests. The survey data is very valuable in keeping our attention directed towards guest satisfaction, and provides great direction for new festival initiatives”, Festivals director Leanne Doyle said.  The survey also indicated that more than two-thirds of the guests come from Fond du Lac and almost the same amount attends each year.