Stephanie Allestad, President of Chocolate on the Beach Festival, attended the Washington Festivals and Events Association 26th Annual Conference April 3-5, 2019 in Bellevue, WA.
“The conference was an incredible experience with over thirty (30) professional development sessions. I learned and generated new ideas to take Chocolate on the Beach Festival to the next level in professionalism and experience for our attendees. I rekindled old friendships and built a network of festival experts from the Pacific Northwest and beyond.” said Allestad.
While at the Conference, Chocolate on the Beach Festival received Gold (1st place) in four categories, PR/Media Campaign, Mobile App, Photo, and Social Media Ad Campaign for the best of the best in Festivals and Events with budgets under $50,000. Entries were judged by professionals in their fields of radio, television, photography, website development, promotions, graphics, public relations, marketing, social media, and special event production.
This is the second year in a row that Chocolate on the Beach Festival took home four Gold Awards. When asked how they do it, Allestad responded “We have a very creative and dedicated board. The marketing company we work with, Owen Marketing GROUP, attends the meetings, gives a lot of input, and helps make the magic happen.” Speaking of magic, next year’s Chocolate on the Beach Festival will be held from February 27th until March 1st, 2020, and their theme will be “The Magic of Chocolate.”
“We had the highest quality of competitive entries in our Summit Awards program history. All organizations should be proud of the work they are doing for their festivals and events. Their efforts are making a difference for attendees and their community as well.” Said Bruce Skinner, Executive Director of the Washington Festivals and Events Association.
Chocolate on the Beach Festival’s mission is to celebrate our rural communities and businesses through the love of chocolate. It operates on an annual budget of well under $50,000 and with no staff and a volunteer board of 8 who provide more than 600 volunteer hours annually. The proceeds of the Chocolate on the Beach Festival are used to help provide funding to other small nonprofits who don’t qualify for most grants to make a difference in the North Beach of unincorporated Grays Harbor County, WA. For more information about Chocolate on the Beach Festival, visit chocolateonthebeachfestival.com.