When Surf City Nights first came to Main Street in March 2007, it cost $8,000 a night, was expected to end after three months and nobody knew if anyone would come. A year later, a much-tweaked festival has proven its worth, observers said.
Surf City Nights has fulfilled the objectives set for it when planners came up with it in the first place, said Nova Punongbayan, a project manager with the city economic development department. Some nights have brought more than 9,000 people, she said. Goals included bringing more people downtown during the off season, bringing more families into the mix of who comes to Main Street and increasing sales nearby.
“There’s a lot more foot traffic, and improvement in terms of the sales,” Punongbayan said. “One of the things we wanted to do is bring in more kids. You’re seeing strollers, and you see kids lined up at all the entertainment we bring in for them.”
But some weeks have been much better-attended than others, noted Connie Pedenko, executive director of the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District. Fewer people are willing to come out during wind and rain, she said.
“There has been measurable improvement,” Pedenko said. “But there is no doubt it is weather-driven.”
While some were skeptical when Surf City Nights debuted, many business owners have been won over. The economic development department used to hold “Wednesday morning quarterbacking” meetings to take concerns, but they stopped once complaints faded away, Punongbayan said.
