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But while moving the event from Friday to Saturday may help boost attendance,
the switch initially created other problems for Lester.
"If we moved it to Saturday and kept it at a Purdue facility, we would
have to pay time-and-a-half for overtime for all of the light, sound
and video personnel," she says.
"The Armory is a very cheap way to host an event like Fish Fry, since
we don't have to pay for the use of the building. But the Armory wasn't
acoustically designed to host a large program like ours. Much of the
audience couldn't hear what was being said on the stage. We had to spend
a tremendous amount of money on sound equipment so people in the back
could hear the show."
Cumberland Place can seat 2,500 for a meal. With kitchen facilities
that were unavailable at the Armory, Lester says she now has the luxury
of tweaking the popular Fish Fry menu.
"We are sticking with the pork tenderloins that have become so popular
in the past three years, but we may be able to upgrade a few things,
perhaps have potato salad instead of potato chips. Now we won't have
to cut corners on the meal," Lester says.
The changes come at a price. A $3 increase to $15 marks the first ticket
price increase in 10 years. Lester says the increase will help pay for
the food and setup costs.
In an effort to speed up the event, the traditional main stage shenanigans
will be eliminated.
"Between our awards and our VIPs, the governor, President Jischke and
Dean Lechtenberg, people the audience wants to hear, we've got a good
show without making the program too long," Lester says.
"We wanted to get a marquee speaker who is entertaining as well as
educational. We hope to get someone who will be topically entertaining
for everyone, rather than someone who talks about the nuts and bolts
of the farm bill. We'll still do that, but we'll do it in the Ag Forecast
show just before the Fish Fry."
But don't expect the Fish Fry to be completely serious.
"We're still going to have a good time, and we don't want anybody to
think they're not going to have fun," Lester says.
"The roving gags and signs are things the audience really seems to
enjoy, so that is something we need to keep. We've had some pretty complicated
scripting of the events on stage. The audience had to really follow
the program from beginning to end to know what was going on. We're doing
away with that because it's too hard to follow."
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