Metro's "Grand Opening" celebrations will be here before you know it! On December 27th, there will be a whole bunch of people riding the light rail line for the first time in our history. The crowds are expected to be huge and the fares for riding have been waived ( yep, FREE) until the first of the year! From 10 a.m. – 5 p.m there will be station events including food, entertainment and other "special activities." This is a great way for businesses to let the community know they are along the new light rail line. Of course, an ongoing way to let people know is to make sure your business is listed on RailLife.com as well!
Metro has been encouraging local business owners, community groups, neighborhood associations, non-profit groups, and the media to get involved with their Grand Opening Celebrations. If you are a business owner directly located along the light rail line, they appear to be making it a priority to reach out to you in this celebration. Any business owner, community group, etc. that would like to participate in the events needs to be familiar with this Celebration Participation Guide, where all of the guidelines are explained. Metro expects 100,000+ people per day for the grand opening weekend! How cool is that!? Serious, they expect over 200,000 people in the first weekend!
So, what's next for participants? If you haven't already been in touch with Metro, please do so soon. You will need to fill out an "Exhibitor Participation Worksheet" by Friday, November 7th (the sooner, the better!). Once entered, Metro will notify you of your status by November 21st. Each participant will be assigned to a location along the line on a first come, first served basis with "brownie points" given to stakeholders or people located directly along the line. Each business should contact the community outreach person from Metro based on your location along the route. Each booth package contains a 10' x 10' tent with two 6' tables and a couple of chairs. No linens or signage will be provided by Metro. Station celebrations will be close to the light rail platforms but NOT on the actual platform for the safety of all involved. The event is free to certain business owners and stakeholders (members of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Downtown Tempe Community, Phx Community Alliance and Seventh Ave Merchants Assn). If you are an entertainer and would like to participate in the events, a press kit can be sent to Carolyn at Entertainment Solutions Inc at carolyn@solutionsaz.com.
According to Metro's Exhibitor Participation Worksheet, the cost for business owners (and stakeholders) located directly on the light rail alignment is FREE. For business owners, community groups, etc. that are not directly on the line, the charge is $1,000.00 for a "booth package." If you are not sure if you are a stakeholder, please contact your line section coordinator (all info is in the Celebration Participation Guide). *Please note* Rail Life is supplying this information from Metro's site. We are not affiliated with Metro, we are just trying to help spread the word. If you have specific needs concerning participation, contact Metro with any questions! 🙂 Please feel free to send this information to anyone along the line that might be interested. If you are a business owner, or know a business owner along the line, we'd love to talk to you about more publicity ideas. Light Rail is going to be a LOT of fun! Remember… "Your Life Is On The Line!"
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