Respect for Town Businesses

This year’s East Haven Fall Festival was by far one of the best we have had in years.  The weather was perfect, there was a great line-up of entertainment, and there seemed to be more vendors this year than in the past. The event was packed on all three days and everyone had a good time. 

The one problem with the festival was of a more personal nature. Our business, Shaolin Kempo Academy, was scheduled to do a performance at 10am on Saturday morning.  Our students worked very hard throughout the summer to develop and practice a performance that would showcase their skills in the martial arts in an entertaining manner.  They were very excited to be performing to people in the Town. However, since the festival did not officially open until noon on Saturday, and the sound person would not even be there until 11:45 to set up, we were left with no one to perform to and no sound system to support our performances, which were set to music. In addition, since there was no sound system, we were not able to introduce ourselves to the few people who were there early, or talk about our school, or give any explanation of what we were doing.  One has to question the logic of scheduling groups at this time.

To add further insult to injury, another martial arts school in town, Dojo of Modern Karate, was scheduled to perform right after us.  They also did not have a sound system nor anyone to perform to. Again where is the logic in scheduling performances at this time AND two of the same type performances back to back with each other? By the time the other school went on, the few people there had their fill of watching martial arts performances and were not interested in watching more.  This was very unfair to Dojo. It almost seems as though the Fair committee did not feel that our type of business and performances were significant enough to be put in a better time slot or provide support to us.

Our Studio has been a continuous business in town for almost 30 years. We are the only Studio in town to provide a holistic approach to family fitness and well-being not only through the martial arts, but also by offering a variety of fitness programs to the entire family such as yoga for adults and children, kickboxing, boot camp, Zumba, and Reiki classes. We have taken part in many town activities from parades, to festivals, to performing in the school system, to offering activities to town youth-groups such as the Scouts and the Teen Center, and providing classes through the recreation department.   We have been a part of the Fall Festival since its inception which includes performing and also renting a booth for the entire weekend. Yet, we were treated as though we were unimportant, putting us in a time slot when no one was at the festival and not even giving us the courtesy of having a sound system.  Interesting enough, there was third martial arts school on the schedule that is newer to town, does not take part in any town-wide activities, but had a premium time slot Saturday afternoon and a complete sound system provided to them.  Again…logic?

People often wonder why businesses do not stay in East Haven. But when you look at the simple lack of respect and courtesy given to those businesses that are in town, one can see why this is.  Hopefully, after discussing this problem with the “powers that be”, our business will be treated with more respect and consideration at next year’s festival.