OCR Text |
Show How Many People Make a Crowd ? For two davs each Aueust Park City becomes the third and probably even the second largest city in Utah. For years during Arts Festival weekend, locals and spectators alike have wondered just how many people constituted that mass of humanity which covered Main Street from top to bottom. Three years ago. Arts Festival Director Tina Lewis decided to find out. Traffic counters were placed on both entrances to the city and every vehicle coming into Park City was counted. The the number of cars was multiplied by 2.7 which Festival officers thought was the average number of persons per vehicle. The figures were astounding. They showed that more than 100,000 persons attended the festival on Saturday and almost 150,000 on Sunday. That meant almost a quarter of a million people had passed up Main Street during the two day festival and that didn't count those already here, local residents or those who came by bus. ; "There could have been as many as 300,000" said Tina Lewis at the time. Because people are constantly arriving and departing, the figures don't indicate that over 100,000 people are on the street at any given time. But during peak afternoon hours the figure could be 25,000 or 30,000. Working with a figure of 250,000 for the two day weekend, one can conjure up fantastic statistics relative to consumption, spending and sheer mass. For instance if all those who attended the two day event linked hands they could form a human chain from Park City to Evanston, Wyoming and back. Or if all of those people stood on a one foot square, they would cover almost six acres. Or if they were all waiting to use the restroom the line would stretch to Wendover, Nevada. If every person attending the festival drank one 12 ounce can or bottle of liquid, at least 25, 000 gallons of beer or pop would be consumed: enough to fill a large swimming pool. At an average inflated price of 50 cents a can, $125,000 worth of liquid would go down the gullet during festival weekend. If evervbodv bought one hamburger, they would consume 25 tons of ground beef, close to 1 million pickles, about a thousand gallons of ketchup, and over 30,000 packages of buns. If everyone came to the festival from the Wasatch Front they would burn almost 400,000 gallons of gasoline in their vehicles and would collectively drive over 6 million miles. Take into consideration the cost of getting to Park City, the cost of getting around, the cost of food and drink, cigarettes and other necessities, it appears that the average person will spend $5 not to mention any purchases of artwork. Thai totals $1,250,000. Add another $750,000 in art sales and you have a minimum of $2 million weekend which ain't hay. r ( -"ill x rr41 h j ft Lo k Vl frr&T 51 |