Council discusses what direction to go with Silverado Days signage to stop decrease in attendance
By Brooklynn Wong
Every fall, crowds from Buena Park and beyond trickle into William Peak Park for a weekend of old-timey contests, rides, fair food and community spirit. Silverado Days is one of the biggest events of the year in Buena Park, and its attendance has been on the decline.
One of the reasons suggested? Signage.
At last week’s City Council meeting, one topic of discussion was whether Silverado Days needs to make the transition to electronic signage.
For years, an iconic symbol of Silverado Days was a huge billboard with Silverado Sam advertising the dates of the upcoming festival.
However those signs fell into disarray, beginning to erode, and eventually were unusable.
In recent years, a 5 x 7 aluminum sign has been used. The City Council expressed concern over whether the poor visibility, or lack of visibility, with the current signage, has contributed to the decline in attendance and revenue.
All City Council members seemed to be in agreement that there does need to be something done to improve signage, however they were split over what exactly to do.
Council member Beth Swift favored going electronic.
But Council member Sunny Park said a sign like the old one ought to be used if not in place of, at least in addition to, electronic signs, saying the old-timey sign is “consistent with the theme of Silverado Days.”
The Council ultimately requested that city staff look into options and come back with concrete numbers at a future meeting.
