With the Tough Mudder Gulf Coast obstacle competition returning to Santa Rosa County on April 9 and 10, the City of Milton wants to bring attendees to downtown Milton through a concert on April 9.
John Norton, the city’s Parks and Recreation director, said the city has narrowed the list of potential bands which could perform following the first day of festivities of Tough Mudder. Norton said the band will hopefully appeal to a younger demographic than ‘Bands on the Blackwater’ which coincidentally will begin on April 8th.
Norton hopes the event will appeal to those registered for the obstacle course, which according to the Tough Mudder website, averages between the ages of 29 to 35.
The main goal of the concert is to bring those participating or anyone associated with the two-day Tough Mudder event to visit Milton.
“This is the city trying to bring in people to see the downtown area and bring in people from outside the area,” Norton said. “We want to give them a reason to come here.”
Similar to ‘Bands,’ the concert will take place along the BlackwaterRiver in downtown Milton from 7 to 9 p.m., Norton said. The show will also feature the same limited amount of vendors.
While the event’s performer and title are still in the works, there are other local events which could also entice visitors to stay in the north end of Santa RosaCounty.
In addition to ‘Bands’ kicking off on the Friday before Tough Mudder, on the same day within the same area the city has scheduled their annual Scratch Ankle Festival in downtown. The annual event will feature several nonprofit organizations including church and school groups, to share information on what they do and allow them to fundraise.
The first week of April will also feature the Santa Rosa County Fair, scheduled from April 1 through 9. The fair will be closed on April 4 and 5, according to srcfair.com. In addition to the numerous rides and attractions, the fair regularly features activities for all ages, including a professional rodeo, livestock show and several kid’s activities.
Norton also encourages local business to hold special events of their own in order to entice Tough Mudder participants.
“When you talk about the amount of people Tough Mudder has, there is enough for everybody’s sake,” Norton said. “The more things we can have happening in Milton and around it, the better off we are.”
The Tough Mudder website estimated between 10,000 to 15,000 people attend each of their competitions. Although last year’s TM event in SRC was only one day, more than 5,000 participants were in attendance at the Ates Ranch in East Milton and created and economic impact of $6.1 million for Santa RosaCounty, according to a previous article in the Press Gazette.
Currently the goal is to get the word out about the event, which coincides with Tough Mudder and Norton hopes the county’s Tourist Development Council will assist in spreading the word.
Vernon Compton, who also serves on the TDC and as president for the Santa Rosa Historical Society, said all of the activities surrounding Tough Mudder will only showcase what the county has to offer.
“We want people to come to this area and have that long-lasting impression. We would like for them to come back,” Compton said.
During Monday night’s executive committee meeting, the council members in attendance approved the concept of the concert and instructed staff to not exceed the cost of $4,500 to be used out of the downtown fund. The item will be part of the consent agenda in next week’s regular council meeting.
Norton also said the concert is not only for the Tough Mudder crowd, but the entire community is invited to attend.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Tough Mudder event inspires other happenings in city