Over 3,000 gather for first ever Paso Pops event
Event featured live symphony, wine tasting, fireworks finale
–Over 3,000 gathered for the first ever Paso Pops event, held at the new Paso Robles Horse Park Saturday.
A celebration of Independence Day, the event featured live symphony music from The San Luis Obispo Symphony, paired with Youth Symphony members and led by Tulare County Symphony and Pasadena Symphony conductor Bruce Kiesling, who performed a 90-120 minute patriotic “Pops” program with a fireworks finale.
“Paso Wine Man” Casey Biggs emceed the event, which was hosted by The Paderewski Festival, a four-day event in November which celebrates the legacy of former Paso Robles resident, Ignacy Jan Paderewski – virtuoso pianist, composer, international politician, local landowner, grower and winemaker – with concerts and special events featuring internationally-renowned performers and young pianists from the Central Coast.
Net proceeds from the event will be distributed to the Paderewski Festival Youth Piano Competition and Student Cultural Exchange Program, San Luis Obispo Youth Symphony, Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation and Studios on the Park Youth Art Program.
Watch video of the fireworks finale, set to the 1812 Overture, below:
Awesome event ! Kudos to Steve Cass and his vision for Paso Robles.
Horribly planned event. 3 food trucks for 3000 people. Took over an hour to get the food. The vendor was rude also. The band members asked if they could get their hotdogs a little faster because they had to play and the vendor told them no. My family and I left early and just watched the fireworks from our house, which is what we should have done in the first place and save $20.
It was a fun event. There were a few problems that I hope will be solved next year. The number of food trucks was totally inadequate!! We waited in line almost an hour, were still only half way to the food truck and ended up eating popcorn and having a beer because the line for these moved faster!! We enjoyed the music but, sitting about two thirds back from the stage, we could not hear it!! The cannons and the fireworks were great!
Next year (& I sincerely do hope this will become an annual event) definately work on the food & drink arrangements. Our party, which included young children, sat in the Mall. We experienced many wonderful things, but also were feeling pretty desperate of course when the food trucks ran out of main course fare before we could get to the head of the line. The cue for pre-purchased wine was also exceptionally long, which fostered some pretty dispicable behavior–grown adults cutting in line and denying it when called out. Also maybe consider adding an enhanced well-designated kids activity areaPerhaps PRYAF or Studios or Youth Symphony could help with this (face painting anyone?). Let families/Mall patrons come earlier & get settled–not just table/VIP patrons. Despite all the kinks, we had a wonderful time! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing efforts from our family.
FYI – 2,000 of the attendees signed up in the last 48 hours before the event making it too late to make arrangements for add'l food trucks. Another 1,000 arrived at the event to purchase tickets at the door and had to be turned away, contributing to the massive traffic woes. No one could have predicted that this event would sell out, especially the first year. A victim of their success, sadly. Many improvements will be made next year so hopefully you'll give it another chance.
I had heard that they sold most of the tickets in the last 48 hours before the show. Maybe they could have stopped selling tickets so everyone wasn't packed in like cattle. I also hope that the 'mc' shows up on time in the future. I do hope it is a more organized event in the future and wish them much success. However, ill just watch the fireworks from the comfort of my home.
Vincent A. Gaita Certainly a good suggestion and will be implemented for next year – to close ticket sales before the event. When our max was reached, we did stop selling tickets at the event, turning away about 1,000 people at the gate, disappointing many people who had fought through the traffic. Actually, the late arrival of the mc was planned to add some drama and humor to the event. This also was meant to stall the show a little bit so we could be sure the fireworks went off when the skies were completely dark. The problem is that the current ethic is that it's OK to wait to the very last minute to make a commitment to any event – creating huge hardships for all event planners.
Lots of issues did play out well but I enjoyed every
minute of it. Great fun!
Good Luck next year!
As a volunteer at the event, I can say that the follow up meeting will be long and detailed.
Awesome event ! Kudos to Steve Cass and his vision for Paso Robles.
Horribly planned event. 3 food trucks for 3000 people. Took over an hour to get the food. The vendor was rude also. The band members asked if they could get their hotdogs a little faster because they had to play and the vendor told them no. My family and I left early and just watched the fireworks from our house, which is what we should have done in the first place and save $20.
It was a fun event. There were a few problems that I hope will be solved next year. The number of food trucks was totally inadequate!! We waited in line almost an hour, were still only half way to the food truck and ended up eating popcorn and having a beer because the line for these moved faster!! We enjoyed the music but, sitting about two thirds back from the stage, we could not hear it!! The cannons and the fireworks were great!
Next year (& I sincerely do hope this will become an annual event) definately work on the food & drink arrangements. Our party, which included young children, sat in the Mall. We experienced many wonderful things, but also were feeling pretty desperate of course when the food trucks ran out of main course fare before we could get to the head of the line. The cue for pre-purchased wine was also exceptionally long, which fostered some pretty dispicable behavior–grown adults cutting in line and denying it when called out. Also maybe consider adding an enhanced well-designated kids activity areaPerhaps PRYAF or Studios or Youth Symphony could help with this (face painting anyone?). Let families/Mall patrons come earlier & get settled–not just table/VIP patrons. Despite all the kinks, we had a wonderful time! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing efforts from our family.
FYI – 2,000 of the attendees signed up in the last 48 hours before the event making it too late to make arrangements for add'l food trucks. Another 1,000 arrived at the event to purchase tickets at the door and had to be turned away, contributing to the massive traffic woes. No one could have predicted that this event would sell out, especially the first year. A victim of their success, sadly. Many improvements will be made next year so hopefully you'll give it another chance.
I had heard that they sold most of the tickets in the last 48 hours before the show. Maybe they could have stopped selling tickets so everyone wasn't packed in like cattle. I also hope that the 'mc' shows up on time in the future. I do hope it is a more organized event in the future and wish them much success. However, ill just watch the fireworks from the comfort of my home.
Vincent A. Gaita Certainly a good suggestion and will be implemented for next year – to close ticket sales before the event. When our max was reached, we did stop selling tickets at the event, turning away about 1,000 people at the gate, disappointing many people who had fought through the traffic. Actually, the late arrival of the mc was planned to add some drama and humor to the event. This also was meant to stall the show a little bit so we could be sure the fireworks went off when the skies were completely dark. The problem is that the current ethic is that it's OK to wait to the very last minute to make a commitment to any event – creating huge hardships for all event planners.
Lots of issues did play out well but I enjoyed every
minute of it. Great fun!
Good Luck next year!
As a volunteer at the event, I can say that the follow up meeting will be long and detailed.