Specifications include, but are not limited to:Services to be performed by the Contractor should include but are not limited to event production services for three (3) major annual festivals: Spring Training Festival (Jan/Feb); Arizona Celebration of Freedom – Independence Day event (Jun/Jul); and Downtown Holiday Festival (Nov/Dec). Spring Training Festival: Taking place at Riverview Park/Sloan Park and Hohokam Stadium in January or February of each year, this event is the precursor to spring training in the City of Mesa and celebrates the more than sixty (60) years of Major League Baseball choosing to train their teams in Arizona. This is a free event that will tentatively run from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm with over 10,000 people expected to attend. The festival will feature an outdoor stage with live music. The festival grounds will consist of food vendors, sponsor activations and activities for families and individuals. Site setup and load in begins up to two (2) days prior. Event strike must be completed in one (1) day following the event. Arizona Celebration of Freedom: With an estimated 50,000 people attending every year, the Arizona Celebration of Freedom is one of the largest July 4th celebrations in Arizona. The event has more than twenty (20) sponsors and involves nearly 200 volunteers annually. The Arizona Celebration of Freedom is a free event and takes place at Mesa Convention Center and Mesa Amphitheater campus on July 4th from 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm. The event includes a main stage plus two smaller stages with live music, an expo with approximately forty (40) vendors and community groups, numerous food vendors, a midway, sponsor booths, VIP area, and numerous educational components. This is an established event with all the features and a tentative site layout already determined. Site setup and load in begins up to two (2) days prior. Event strike must be completed in one (1) day following the event. Downtown Holiday Festival: The Downtown Holiday Festival is a placeholder name for the event formerly called Merry Main Street. This popular event was celebrated over a weekend with many holiday activities and games and kicked off the downtown lighting in conjunction with the Mesa Arizona Temple Lights festival. This new event seeks to have celebration every Friday and Saturday starting with Thanksgiving weekend and ending the weekend before Christmas and includes a special food court at Pioneer Park across from the temple lights, activation of the Mesa Arts Center with programming on the Alliance Pavilion Stage and a Winter Wonderland on Macdonald Street north of Main Street including an ice rink. It is anticipated that this festival could draw as many 40,000 people over the four (4) weekends and is a free community event. The festival is scheduled to take place on four (4) weekends, from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
