Chili Cook-off & No Dogs Suggestion

[Bogie Shooter]

The add for the Rotary Chili Cook-off & Home & Garden Show included "Do your pets a favor-let them stay home for a nap!"
I was not able to attend the cook-off today and was wondering were there dogs in attendance?

[ceejay]

We were there for a few hours this afternoon and did not see one dog!

[renielarson]

The only dogs I saw were in a steam pot ready for a bun...

[buggyone]

I was there for about 2.5 hours and only saw one dog - and it was being carried by the owner. Very crowded with people and would be dangerous for a dog to be walking around.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

All the dogs were probably over at Fumar's place...............:22yikes:

Bill :)

[Uptown Girl]

The 'no dogs' suggestion was a very good one.
The place was packed and would have been a hazard to have pups on leashes.

We saw one very large and beautiful Doberman in one of the vendor tents. He was not on a leash and I'm sure the vendor thought the dog would stay docile behind the display.
He didn't.... and scared the bejeezus out of some poor guy he didn't like the vibes of, just as we were walking by. No unhappy ending, but probably not the best way to attract new customers.

[bkcunningham1]

We were there for about three hours and didn't notice any doggies. It was really fun and nice. Very, very crowded. I will not wear open-toed shoes next time though.

Did anyone else notice the stench coming from the polo fields. I don't mean horse poo either. It was sickening. A friend told us he was playing softball the day before the chili-cookoff and they were fertilizing the fields. The smell was like a dead animal. He said they couldn't stomach the smell and thought it was really odd to be fertilizing the day before the event. Ugghh.

[linandvin]

Between the stench and the traffic, I will cross this one off our list.

[bkcunningham1]

Did you smell it, linandvin? We you there too? The traffic is to be expected. The smell was inexcusable to me. At least you couldn't smell it in the immediate area of the food and home/garden booths.

[linandvin]

We definitely smelled it. We had to park in the "lower forty" and by the time we walked through the "landmines" I certainly lost my appetite. Traffic was not moving the way it should have been. People were really losing it. Perhaps next time they might have more than one access point. When we realized how long we would have to wait, it was too late. We were caught in the loop and could not escape.

[Zoomie1955]

We got there after 2pm and I saw two dogs. But at that time it was not crowded. There was still plenty of chili!!!!:a040:

[NJblue]

This was the worst managed event I have ever attended. The way the access road and parking were set up made it impossible for those of us in the back "corral" to get out. When I first went back to my car there were about 10-15 cars ahead of me trying to work their way to the exit road. Unfortunately, there were still people trying to come in and they blocked our access to the exit road which was also the entrance road. The person assigned to keep traffic moving did nothing to create an alternate flow to allow everyone a chance to get on to the road - so, there we sat not moving an inch. After about 30 minutes I gave up my spot in line (by now there were probably 30 cars trying to get out), parked my car and tried to find someone to help.

I walked all the way back up to Buena Vista talking to each yellow-vested person to find out who was in charge. They all pointed at someone else. I finally found someone with a yellow hat on who was supposed to be a "group leader". He was up near the exit where they had things under control (meaning that those who parked there were getting out at our expense.) At first he blew me off by pointing at the traffic that was being allowed to merge onto the road around him and said things were going fairly well. When I impressed upon him that back up the line that no one was getting out at all, he at first wouldn't believe me, but I seemed to finally make an impession on him, such that he got into his golf cart as if to go check the situation out.

Thinking that the situation would be fixed I made my way back to the car. When I got there, it was now an hour later and still no one from the parking corral had moved. The cars that were behind me when I got out of line were still in the exact same place. I waited about 5 or 10 minutes for "yellow cap" to show up and get things moving. He never did. I then went out and found another supervisor (one who I had also spoken to before) and insisted that he come to our "corral" and see for himself that nothing was moving. By this time nearly everyone in that corral was in their cars trying to get out and no one was. Finally the second supervisor did show up and we eventually started to move. My net time trying to escape the polo grounds was an hour an a half.

I have been to football games with over 100,000 people there and Manhattan when all the Broadway shows were letting out and I have never had such a hard time getting home. The polo grounds seem like a perfect venue for large events like this because of their size, but unless they do something to provide better access and egress, I will never go near an event held there again.

[ddan32162]

We arrived around noon and left around 2-2:30 and saw one small dog. The lady was feeding it chili. I said to my husband, I wonder if she bought it a wrist band? Why did they let her in? Because it was only a "suggestion"? And we also did smell the fields on our walk to the event. Yuk - really farm-y smelling, but once in the chili serving area we didn't smell it much. I agree about organizing the parking situation next time. We took our golf cart, so it was much easier, but for those who need to drive a car, it must have been horrific.

[rubicon]

Chili Cook Off no dogs but plenty of smell and plenty of cars....No dogs..chili Hmmmmmmmmmmm :duck:

[Bonny]

Our Parrot Heads had a booth. Never saw any dogs & we were there all day. Saw "LOTS" of dirt !! Talk about being a filthy mess. Clothes went off at home in the garage !!

[nitehawk]

Nest time charge $10 then all of the freeloader will not show up, and there will be no lines to enter - only a line of people exiting when they find out it $10 to enter

[robertj1954]

I did not see any dogs during my time at the Chili Cook off, both of mine were at home taking naps. We were there from 11:00-2:00. We had a great time, the Rotary Club did a great job with setting it up. I do have to agree with the one objectionable issue. The horrible smell from the horse manure was almost over bearing when we arrived. Not sure what could be about it, but we did not allow it to spoil our great time.

One suggestion for next year, if it is to be held at the Polo Field again, please try and come up with a better traffic pattern for exiting vehicles. The back up of golf carts and cars was a bit much.

[robertj1954]

Our Parrot Heads had a booth. Never saw any dogs & we were there all day. Saw "LOTS" of dirt !! Talk about being a filthy mess. Clothes went off at home in the garage !!

We really enjoyed the Parrot Head's Chili, good job to your team. :)

[Bogie Shooter]

The cook-off is a fund raising event for the Rotary Club. I'm sure they would like to know that there were some problems. Here is the email of the Rotary President, that I found at their web site.
pfarineau@comcast.net

Rotary Club of The Villages, Florida - Home (http://www.rotaryclubofthevillages.org)

[birdawg]

sounds like rt 10 in ledgewood at rush hour on the way to work

[spk7951]

We were at the Home & Garden area for a couple of hours starting around noon and saw three dogs walking with their owners.

The Polo fields definitely had fertilizer applied within the last couple of days.

As previous mentioned the traffic on Saturday was horrendous. We made a point of thinking if the event is held again next year we would attend on Sunday when the Chili cook-off is not run.

Overall we thought the event was great but hope the powers that be learned from some oversights.

[Bonny]

We really enjoyed the Parrot Head's Chili, good job to your team. :)
Thank you so much !

[NotGolfer]

Didn't get to attend...the thought of crowds was the biggest deterrant for us plus we had other things going on. As a thought...taking a golf-cart probably is the better way to go JMHO. As for the smell---well can't address that from a personal perspective but the polo fields are next to horse farms and it was windy yesterday. Not sure how they could have excluded that odiferous experience from the event.

[sands]

Between the stench and the traffic, I will cross this one off our list.

I didn't notice the stench, but for the TRAFFIC alone, we are permanently crossing this one off of our list... In fact, meaning no disrespect to the Rotary, I got on here today intending to post that we'll never go back to that event again, due mostly to the trouble we ran into trying to get out. We were stuck in the paddock 8 area and only moved about 2 car lengths for 40 minutes. My husband said it took a man from one of the other cars in the same predicament going up and directing traffic to finally get us out (or I'm pretty sure we'd still be there...)

[GatorFan]

I liked the event better when it was held at the town squares, plus it generated business for local shops.

[Irishmen]

I thought it would be on The Polo Fields, not in a pasture recently used by animals. Landlmines everywhere. What a great day to be outside. awesome weather. Now it's nap time.

[Tweety Bird]

The polo grounds seemed to be a bigger area than the squares. However, it makes it very difficult for handicapped people to attend with the terrain being so uneven. Re: Dogs, I saw a couple of little ones in their stroller. That seems to be the safe thing for the dogs and other people. I had a fun time. It's all about attitude when it comes to crowds. Try getting upset at "Disneyline"!! :clap2:

[gatherer47]

I spent 15 minutes in a line that never moved trying to get into chili cook-off. A quick u-turn and I was out of there.At least last year at town square you had plenty of options on how to arrive and leave.In fact I've never had any real problem trying to get in or out of any square function.

[dancerbill]

After having lived in The Villages for several years, and being a member of several performing groups, I am accustomed to being in large crowds here.

It is my observation that The Villages does a very poor job in coping with large crowds. Crowd control and traffic control at outside events are almost nonexistent, even for events that are held regularly like the large events at the squares. The Special Events staff whose job it is to control the crowds and traffic -- often don't.

Many residents don't help the situation any, either. I love to attend shows at the Savannah Center and am always appalled at the dozens of people at each show who rush for the exits while the performers are still performing on stage. The patrons' enjoyment of the closing act of the performance is spoiled by these people pushing down the aisles, stepping on feet, blocking views, then hurriedly rushing for the exits while loudly urging each other on. As a performer, it is tough to finish one's performance when, at times, it seems like the audience is rushing out on you and talking over your dialogue or music.

At least at the Savannah Center, exiting the parking lot is no big deal is one allows a few minutes. By 15-20 minutes after the end of the show, all is usually well in the parking lots. My wife and I usually hang around after the shows, talking with friends, using the restroom, etc., and when we leave, we are able to drive right out of the parking lots with no wait.

Another comment (and my rant will be over, I promise) concerns the behavior at the tree lighting ceremonies. Lack of aisles, crowding forward onto the dance floors while the performers are still performing, and carelessness with the lighted candles makes for a high risk situation. I've seen two instances where hair was set afire by careless waving of lighted candles.

My groups and I love to perform. But, from our perspective, many Villagers don't know how to behave in public. Why are so many in such a rush? Do they know a destination other than the one that we all have in common?

Bill

[Uptown Girl]

I hear you, Bill... and to borrow from Gracie, 'Boy Howdy' do I hear you!

Rude and obnoxious people are rude and obnoxious wherever they go and whatever the situation..... because it works for them.

Your method of hanging back after a performance is a good one and keeps you in a mode of enjoyment. Great example to offer others!

Our traffic/crowd control volunteers are just that most often.... volunteers who are neighbors. Most often they really try to do their best but many times those same obnoxious kind of people rudely ignore the direction they are given and do what they want without regard to others, screwing things up royally. I can't blame the volunteers for that.

Those attempting to direct traffic can't do much with people who won't follow the program, then get nasty about it.
I've seen that happen more than a few times, and I wouldn't want the task.

[buggyone]

My wife and I and two friends went by golf cart to the chili contest. We parked the cart at Saddlebrook Rec Center and walked a few blocks across the polo field. Yes, it did have a fertilizer smell but was not overpowering by any means and I would not call it a stench at all. The smell was not noticible once you entered the show area.

I thought the area for the cook off was well put together, had some great $1 beer, most of the chili was tasty (the Marine Corp Detachment was terrible, CareGivers was excellent), good music, happy people all over the place.

Getting out was easy for us. We walked the few blocks back over the polo field, got in our golf cart at Saddlebrook, went through the Saddlebrook tunnell under Buena Vista, onto Southern Trace and were home in 10 minutes.

I can understand how some people were upset about waiting in line with their cars and carts - but when you drive into the midst of a crowded event, what do you expect? Park a short distance away and walk in is the best idea.

Rotary did a great job of putting it together. I will be there next year for sure.

[Skip]

2012 Chili Cook Off was the worst event ever!! Just another example of the developer wanting even more control of the party. The merchants on the square lost out again when it was moved away from town. You were a captive audience out there and it was impossible to leave the place. How do you like the way they advertised it as the "polo fields" but actually moved it to a dirty "horse pasture". We were duped! :ohdear:

Skip

[linandvin]

Parking and walking would be a great option, but it was not an option once you entered and saw the traffic. You were trapped in a loop with no way out. Poor crowd control. Have seen larger events run much smoother.

[NJblue]

I can understand how some people were upset about waiting in line with their cars and carts - but when you drive into the midst of a crowded event, what do you expect?
I expect a wait commensurate with the size of the event. I have been to events 10-20 times the size of the chili cookoff and have never experienced anything remotely close to the traffic problems I experienced on Saturday. I did take Bogie Shooter's advice and contacted the president of the Rotary Club about the situation. Here is his response:

I am sorry for the difficulty you encountered during your exiting the our Chili Cookoff event yesterday. Your situation was passed on to us by several other attendees at the event and I want you to know that our Rotary Club members who organized the event will be reviewing these events during an "after action" meeting to be held soon. The Villages Event Staff were in charge of the traffic control entering and exiting our Rotary event. They will be part of this meeting and I will be sharing your comments with them. This is the first time we have held the Chili Cookoff at the Polo Field and like anything new we found issues we need to fix. It is very unfortunate that you and many others had to be inconvienced by the exiting process. If we are unable to rectify the parking and exiting problem we will have to seek another venue to schedule our event in the future. I will be more than happy to report back to you after we have our meeting. Thank you for attending our event in support of the 50 charities that our Rotary Club supports throughout the year.

[Villages PL]

It should have been for dogs only and the owners stay home for a nap.

:doggie: :doggie: :doggie: :doggie: :doggie: :doggie: :doggie: :doggie:

[Skip2MySue]

I expect a wait commensurate with the size of the event. I have been to events 10-20 times the size of the chili cookoff and have never experienced anything remotely close to the traffic problems I experienced on Saturday. I did take Bogie Shooter's advice and contacted the president of the Rotary Club about the situation. Here is his response:

And that's the response you would hope to get from management. Sounds like the problem will be addressed with all parties concerned with a major effort being put forth by the Rotary to get it fixed or moved. Bravo to them:bigbow:
Skip 2

[buggyone]

2012 Chili Cook Off was the worst event ever!! Just another example of the developer wanting even more control of the party. The merchants on the square lost out again when it was moved away from town. You were a captive audience out there and it was impossible to leave the place. How do you like the way they advertised it as the "polo fields" but actually moved it to a dirty "horse pasture". We were duped! :ohdear:

Skip

Wow, this person has issues!

The merchants on the squares did not get as much business but remember that the Developer gets a small percentage of their profits as part of their lease agreement. It was not impossible to leave the event. I knew where it was and parked my golf cart accordingly at Saddlebrook Rec Center along with lots of others. It was less than a 3 block walk across the polo field to the field it was in. I was out of the event, walked to my cart at Saddlebrook in under 10 minutes and was home 15 minutes later. Just takes a little bit of thinking to realize if it is better to park right where the event is or to walk a few minutes. It was dusty in the field but not filthy with horse excretement as some would think. Nothing was wrong with the event at all. Sounds as though some people might like to stay home and not come to charity events anymore. No loss to those of us who live in and enjoy The Villages!

[Skip2MySue]

Wow, this person has issues!

The merchants on the squares did not get as much business but remember that the Developer gets a small percentage of their profits as part of their lease agreement. It was not impossible to leave the event. I knew where it was and parked my golf cart accordingly at Saddlebrook Rec Center along with lots of others. It was less than a 3 block walk across the polo field to the field it was in. I was out of the event, walked to my cart at Saddlebrook in under 10 minutes and was home 15 minutes later. Just takes a little bit of thinking to realize if it is better to park right where the event is or to walk a few minutes. It was dusty in the field but not filthy with horse excretement as some would think. Nothing was wrong with the event at all. Sounds as though some people might like to stay home and not come to charity events anymore. No loss to those of us who live in and enjoy The Villages!

Please note that the message was from SKIP not SKIP 2. I'm the nice one:clap2:
Skip 2

[bluedog103]

It was less than a 3 block walk across the polo field to the field
There are blocks on the polo field? How big are those blocks?

[buggyone]

I usually say a block is around 1 tenth of a mile or so.

[Skip]

Wow, this person has issues!


Check your shoes!

Skip

[Bogie Shooter]

contacted the president of the Rotary Club about the situation. Here is his response:


Quote:
I am sorry for the difficulty you encountered during your exiting the our Chili Cookoff event yesterday. Your situation was passed on to us by several other attendees at the event and I want you to know that our Rotary Club members who organized the event will be reviewing these events during an "after action" meeting to be held soon. The Villages Event Staff were in charge of the traffic control entering and exiting our Rotary event. They will be part of this meeting and I will be sharing your comments with them. This is the first time we have held the Chili Cookoff at the Polo Field and like anything new we found issues we need to fix. It is very unfortunate that you and many others had to be inconvienced by the exiting process. If we are unable to rectify the parking and exiting problem we will have to seek another venue to schedule our event in the future. I will be more than happy to report back to you after we have our meeting. Thank you for attending our event in support of the 50 charities that our Rotary Club supports throughout the year.

I would have expected nothing less from this or any other organization with a major fund raising event. I did not attend so could not attest to the problems others experienced.....thats why I posted the email address.
The point being we can come on TOTV and b%$#* about things and nothing will happen to change a situation. If you think the powers to be are sitting around reading TOTV looking for somebody complaining....it ain't gonna happen.
Seek out those responsible and share your concerns with them, then when you get a response come to TOTV and share your story.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

You da man, Bogie! :coolsmiley:

Bill :)

[graciegirl]

Please note that the message was from SKIP not SKIP 2. I'm the nice one:clap2:
Skip 2


YES YOU ARE!!!

Good morning Skip2MySue!

[Pturner]

contacted the president of the Rotary Club about the situation. Here is his response:


Quote:
I am sorry for the difficulty you encountered during your exiting the our Chili Cookoff event yesterday. Your situation was passed on to us by several other attendees at the event and I want you to know that our Rotary Club members who organized the event will be reviewing these events during an "after action" meeting to be held soon. The Villages Event Staff were in charge of the traffic control entering and exiting our Rotary event. They will be part of this meeting and I will be sharing your comments with them. This is the first time we have held the Chili Cookoff at the Polo Field and like anything new we found issues we need to fix. It is very unfortunate that you and many others had to be inconvienced by the exiting process. If we are unable to rectify the parking and exiting problem we will have to seek another venue to schedule our event in the future. I will be more than happy to report back to you after we have our meeting. Thank you for attending our event in support of the 50 charities that our Rotary Club supports throughout the year.

I would have expected nothing less from this or any other organization with a major fund raising event. I did not attend so could not attest to the problems others experienced.....thats why I posted the email address.
The point being we can come on TOTV and b%$#* about things and nothing will happen to change a situation. If you think the powers to be are sitting around reading TOTV looking for somebody complaining....it ain't gonna happen.
Seek out those responsible and share your concerns with them, then when you get a response come to TOTV and share your story.

Very nice reply from Rotary! :ho:

Regarding the initial subject of this thread, it is encouraging to read that only a very few people apparently brought their dogs after they were specifically-- and quite diplomatically, I might add-- invited not to do so. :ho: