With support from first-ever presenting sponsor Chesapeake Energy, Mayfest 2008 celebrates record attendance of more than 225,000
Petite girls in glittery dance costumes and little boys in Little Dragon martial arts uniforms strolled through Fort Worth’s Trinity Park on May 3 with big grins and eyes shining with excitement. Mayfest 2008 was definitely a family affair, with parents pushing small children in strollers under towering shade trees and seniors exploring the multiple artist and merchant booths positioned throughout the 33-acre site. The annual, community-wide celebration, held May 1-4, brought with it a year of firsts, as Chesapeake Energy became the outdoor festival’s first-ever presenting sponsor, and record-setting crowds turned out in droves during a weekend of spectacular weather.
“Mayfest 2008 had record attendance … well over 225,000 people,” says current Managing Director Elizabeth Basham. “The Chesapeake tent had a continuous stream of visitors, with ‘Guitar Hero’ being a big hit!”
The Chesapeake tent was quite an attraction, with two wooden rig structures standing sentinel over a large tent filled with games, balloons and educational information about natural gas production. In Chesapeake’s Kid Zone, youngsters had a chance to dress like a rig worker — complete with goggles and hard hat; try their dancing skills on the “Dance, Dance Revolution” platforms; or let their fingers fly while playing the “Guitar Hero” interactive video game.
Despite its being a major event on the Fort Worth calendar for 36 years, many festival-goers are unaware that Mayfest is a fundraiser for the development of the Trinity River, as well as several local community programs. More than 3,000 volunteers gather each year on the banks of the Trinity River to support this joint project of the Tarrant Regional Water District, Streams and Valleys, Inc., the Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department and the Junior League of Fort Worth.
Chesapeake’s commitment to share a portion of the Barnett Shale windfall with the communities in which it operates and to encourage a greener tomorrow through the use of clean-burning natural gas fits ideally with the Mayfest vision of maintaining a clean, family-friendly water pathway through the City of Fort Worth.
“Mayfest was thrilled to have Chesapeake as the first-ever presenting sponsor,” said Elizabeth Basham. “The increase in funding enabled Mayfest to give further support to the Trinity River and greenbelt. In addition, Mayfest was able to give more back to the community through supporting area non-profit programs.”
