The Morro Bay Embarcadero attracts people year-round, but the city is hoping to bring even more people to the area.
Back in May, the Harbor Advisory Board was allowed to form an ad-hoc committee, tasking them with exploring opportunities for single-day events along the Embarcadero.
“A single-day event would be fun. I read where they do a car show. I like antique cars and something like that for a day event would attract me back here," said Kevin Butler, who visits the area about twice a year.
According to the staff report, the events would be focused around the Tidelands Trust area, making it close to businesses like Smoobage. Heather Koide has owned the store for 12 years and has seen a consistent peak season in business during the summer and a slowdown in the winter.
“Oh, it's always beneficial to do events and fun things for people to do. Music down at the park would be really cool," Koide said.
Mark Tognazzini is a lifelong resident of Morro Bay and has owned Dockside Restaurant for over 20 years.
“When they try to bring in lots of people, it drives away our regulars and locals," Toganazzini said. "If you’re doing a big harbor festival weekend, locals and regulars aren’t coming, and when locals and regulars don’t come to events, those events over time tend to fail."
Both local business owners had some recommendations on what they would like to see if the events take place.
“Music. Anything dress-up. I love dress-up things; those are fun. Maybe just things that highlight different businesses or new businesses or like farmers market style things,” Koide said.
“It’s not just visitors, our locals and regulars get to go to those events and enjoy them too, which is super important. You’ve gotta always take that into consideration — the locals and regulars as well as visitors from other areas," Toganazzini said.
During this time, the committee has been working on:
- Evaluating the types of events
- Exploring partnerships with local businesses, non-profits, and tourism organizations
- Looking at marketing strategies
- Outlining the process for event planning once the ad-hoc committee ends
KSBY News reached out to the Harbor Department to ask what the events might look like and if or when they would start but has not heard back.
The staff report said it would take three to six months for the committee to complete that work, meaning they are coming close to the six-month mark and would need to provide an update soon.
