Virginia Beer and Cigar Festival

[altbier]

OK, feedback time. I ask of you fellow gorillas to give me some sage advice. I want you to think long and hard before answering.

My orginial venue for the Virginia Beer and Cigar Festival fell through. I understand their decision, since it is a family oriented park and the board of directors thought it didnt fit their family vision.

So, I have narrowed it down to two locations and want feed back:
First Location- Colonial Downs Horse Racing Track

Pros and Cons:

Pros:
Event can be held entirely indoors
Three floors with tons of room
Located between Richmond and Williamsburg
Cost is reasonable
Event can take place same day as Kentucky Derby (drink beer, smoke cigars and bet)
We can also do a January event (this will happen by the way)

Cons:
May have to hire bartenders at $100 a day to poor the beer
Catering is restricted to one vendor (no variety of food)
Catering makes the ticket price go from $30 to $45
No hotels within 20 minutes
No real population around event place, but closer to tidewater and Williamsburg
Attendence will not be as great

Second Location:
The Boulders
Large lot with stage

Pros-
Inexpensive to rent
central location in richmond
known for this type event (wine, blues)
allows any food vendors
will add 3000+ patrons
hotels nearby

cons-
land sold, so it may be bulldozed by the time the event rolls around (find out Jan 1)
expensive of tents
have to hire an army of security (off duty cops)
possibility of being rained out



So there you have my current delimma. i either deal with the politics of a locked in catering company or the politics of the county of chesterfield.

but on retrospect, this is only trivial to what i am dealing with in the City of Atlanta

So would you drive to an event knowing hotels were 20 minutes away (we are talking 40+ beers on tap)
Would the fact you can watch the kentucky derby at a racetrack add to the event?

Cheers!

[JezterVA]

I've been kicking around this idea since yesterday and although I have no experience with either place, I think it would be kinda cool to be at the racetrack on Derby day.

If attendance is going to suffer however for being at the track, then I would have to vote for The Boulders...the more the merrier, right??

I will be a definite attendee no matter which location is chosen however. I'm really looking forward to the event.

Cheers!!
Steve

P.S.
Where was the original venue? King's Dominion?

[Navydoc]

Colonial Downs......