.: Print Version :.

NORTH SPIT — As vendors stood under pavilions at SandFest on Friday, customers came in waves of ATV riders.

There were busy moments and lulls alike, but nevertheless Tim McClellan, production manager for Bend-based ATV parts manufacturer Muzzys, had a smile on his face. He was in the middle of what he guessed would be a $3,000 to $4,000 sales day.

“We’ve done very well. It’s been a good day so far,” he said. “And it’s been great exposure and advertising for us.”

This was the first year Muzzys had set up shop at SandFest, the smaller cousin of DuneFest, which is set for late July in Reedsport and Winchester Bay. McClellan’s been happy with the results, as were the employees manning the Coos Bay ATV & Cycle Center Kawasaki across a plot of sand right off a prime stretch of ATV traffic.

“We’ve been very busy,” said Hailey Cabral, in between doing business with riding-suit clad customers. “Sometimes, it’s overwhelming.”

The brisk business vendors were doing Friday shouldn’t have been a surprise. SandFest organizer Terry Wilmeth and his organization took a number of steps this year to attract more riders — and shoppers — to the event, most notably doing away with entry and camping fees.

Wilmeth said he wouldn’t have total attendance figures until SandFest finishes Sunday, but he did know the number of riders entered in races was already double the 250 who showed up in 2008. And, at least anecdotally, he thought the volume of spectators he’d seen coming and going by Friday also indicated the event could double the overall attendance of 4,500 last year.

“We’ve never had this many vendors say they did so well on the first day they actually recovered their costs,” Wilmeth said.

For businesses like Muzzys and Coos ATV & Cycle Kawasaki, coming to an event like SandFest is a no-brainer. It gives direct access to interested clientele. For smaller local food vendors, though, setting up shop at SandFest is more of a gamble.

Tony and Brooke Meyers, owners of Coquille’s North West Smokehouse, hustled between smokers filled with ribs and tri-tip steak, moving food around to keep it from being dried by the wind. They were optimistic they’d covered at least their roughly $400 fee and permit costs after a busy day Tuesday, but with overhead costs and a somewhat slow week, the Coquille couple had no idea what kind of profit the business would see.

“We just hope to have a good weekend,” Tony Meyers said. “Until the event’s over, there’s no way to tell how you did.”

Thirty yards away, Cassie Smith of Unger’s Bay, a seafood restaurant in Winchester Bay, slaved over a fryer in a trailer as ATV riders zoomed by. She said she’d been working 10 to 14 hours a day since Tuesday, trying to recoup her setup costs and turn some kind of profit.

“I’m just hoping to make my costs back and make a little more,” Smith said. “But even just being out here gives me the advertising that I need.”

Smith and Tony and Brooke Meyers said it looked good enough that they’d be back next year, as did McClellan and Cabral.

It’s all a learning process,” Brooke Meyers said. “But next year, people will know we’re here.”

Of course, that’s assuming there will be a next year. Wilmeth said SandFest had stretched itself pretty thin making the event happen this year without racing and camping fees, and the organization had to go without a sponsor in tough economic times.

We really took it in the teeth as an organization last year,” Wilmeth said. “If it’s our last year, we want it to be a great year.”

Wilmeth hopes a big 2009 turnout could help the event survive. And if SandFest, which was revived in 2008, does continue, it’s a safe bet there will be plenty of takers to fill vendor’s row. The Meyers clan and Smith both said even if they didn’t have a banner week at SandFest, they could take what they learned and build on it in 2010. And those selling ATV gear said they wouldn’t even consider skipping SandFest next year.

“It’s just a good place to showcase our new products,” McClellan said. “We’ll be back next year.”