Here are some of my views on ''Bungalowfest''.
I think the name should be changed to:
The Historic Kenwood Tour of Homes.
We all don't live in bungalows.
Many don't know what a bungalow is and confuse the terms.
We don't and shouldn't, show only bungalows in our tour of homes.
There is nothing or anybody that is making us keep the name.
The tour was designed, firstly, as a marketing tool. With that in mind, the name of the neighborhood is what we should be promoting, not just one type of house.
Yes, it's a catchy name. But, every other neighborhood agrees to promote their name first. That's what people should remember.
My second thought is also about marketing. If we are to market this neighborhood to it's fullest, then we should try to get as many prople to come on our home tour as possible. I think we should go back to charging $5 again. We had a drop off in attendance last year. I think doubling the charge had something to do with that. There is a big jump from $10 to $20 per couple.
More neighborhoods around here charge $5. I think we should stay competitive. Yes, the tour is a big fund raiser. I happen to think it is, and should stay, a marketing tool first.
Don't worry, I won't bring this up at a meeting, but I might weigh in if it comes up.

By Bill H.

Hmmm

You raise good points. The neighborhood name should be first and foremost. Of course, what if part of it becomes Midtown? That will cut down the tour.

As for price, you are right there, too. Keep it affordable and attendance will keep up. Overprice it, and people will stop coming. I almost didn't last year because of the price.

Splitting

Thank you for your comments. However, whether or not we become part of ''Midtown'' will do nothing to change our borders of Historic Kenwood. Midtown is already made up of many different neighborhoods. None of them lost their identity. Being part of midtown will not affect our tour.

By Bill H.

Hi, Bill :D

I hear what you are saying about the name ''Bungalowfest'', but I think the name was chosen originally because the ''soul'' of the Historic Kenwood housing stock is the classic Bungalow, and it doesn't imply that ONLY Bungalows are shown on the home tour. It just says, this is what we are known for. We have a rich and historic mix of housing styles, but the bungalow is the quintessence of Historic Kenwood. That said, I agree with you that the name of the 'hood should definitely be in there. What about ''The Historic Kenwood Bungalowfest'', as a compromise?

I would have no problem at all with the name being changed to ''The Historic Kenwood Home Tour'', either.

On to the issue of what to charge. I DEFINITELY agree that the charge should be $5.00 per person, $10.00 per couple, (and perhaps $10.00 for a family ???). Charging more than $5.00 per person is counterproductive to our goal of attracting people, IMHO. Once in the 'hood, they will probably spend money on T-shirts, calendars, etc.--especially since many of those who would take the tour are none other than Kenwoodians themselves, who love to see their neighbor's homes. But this Kenwoodian isn't shelling out more than five buckaroos for it. My money goes into my Kenwood home, not into touring other's Kenwood homes, ya know. Seriously, folks aren't really going to spend more than $5.00 for the admission itself. Items like T-shirts, calendars, and food are another story. I say charge whatever we feel like for those things. I was wearing our T-shirt with the watercolor by Bob on it the other day and thinking how beautiful it is. Many people would shell out $$$ for that and for the calendar, etc. But the admission itself should be designed to attract as many people as possible, not to price ourselves out of what most people might reasonably pay for a pleasant Saturday or Sunday. Hopefully, if we pack enough of the curious in, they will spend a lot more in the long run once they fall in love with our irresistable neighborhood and buy a house here--yay!