Businesses in the Valley of Arts and Flowers are gearing up for the 55th annual Lompoc Flower Festival this week and the 85th annual Lompoc Flower Show.

The influx of visitors for the five-day festival 7 Wednesday through Sunday 7 will provide an economic boost to the community as it celebrates its heritage and the flower seed industry.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the original planting of sweet peas in the valley, which caught the attention of the Burpee Seed Co. and led to the development of Lompoc as the center of the flower seed industry.

&#8220It/s obviously one of our major festivals of the year for Lompoc,C said Denny Anderson, Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer. &#8220I/d say it/s the flagship of all our festivals, as far as Lompoc is concerned.C

Anderson said he expects a large crowd this year, with an impressive economic impact.

&#8220It appears that it/s going to be a good turnout,C he said. &#8220It usually ranges from 80,000 to 100,000 (people). It/s a tremendous benefit to the community economically.C

The Flower Festival is critical to Lompoc/s economy, which suffered after the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986 and scuttled the economic buildup that was underway in anticipation of space launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, according to Dennis Headrick, executive assistant at the Chamber of Commerce.

&#8220After the shuttle plans, we were trying to diversify Lompoc to the tourist economy,C Headrick said. &#8220We already had hotels here from the shuttle plans, and we were attracting snowbirds from Canada.C

Anderson said festival audiences differ from those drawn to the annual dog shows or the Vintner/s Festival that debuted in the Lompoc Valley this spring and will return next year.

The Flower Festival has three distinct audiences that each have an economic impact, he said, beginning with local residents who usually visit the festival three or four times during the week and may spend ,30 to ,50 per day.

He described the second audience as &#8220day trippers.C

&#8220These are those who come from Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez,C he said. &#8220They are just there for the day.C

But during that day, Anderson estimated, the visitors spend ,100 each, including the required gas fill-ups.

A third audience comes for the entire festival weekend, arriving on Friday for the food and entertainment at Ryon Park, enjoying the Flower Show at the Veterans Memorial Building and taking in the parade on Saturday, then leaving Sunday.

That audience benefits local motels and hotels. Anderson estimated that the weekend visitors each spend about ,200 per day at the festival.

During the many decades of the Flower Festival, it has been an integral part of Lompoc/s culture, with the parade and the festival attracting visitors from near and far, Anderson said.

Headrick, who is also president of the Lompoc Valley Historical Society, said the festival has maintained its popularity despite the slow demise of the flower-seed industry.

&#8220It/s great for visitors,C he said. &#8220We attract tons of tour buses for the flower show and so people can see the flowers and murals. People come together to see old friends and family.C

Headrick said 25 to 30 tour buses usually come to town over the festival weekend, with many of them being senior-citizen tour groups.

Those visitors create big business at local restaurants 7 and the buses fill up on diesel fuel, especially if they are coming from more distant areas like Southern California, he said.

The food booths are run by nonprofit organizations and churches that count on the festival as their primary fundraising event of the year, he said.

The organizations include youth programs like Lompoc High Football, the New Life Christian Academy, AYSO soccer and the Chamber of Commerce itself.

Headrick agreed: &#8220The big thing is that it/s a major fundraiser for the local nonprofits who operate the food booths. There are about 20 or 30 nonprofits that make big bucks. … It/s a boon for local nonprofits.C

There are no exact figures for the economic impact, but Anderson and Headrick said it surpasses ,1 million.

&#8220Millions of dollars is the impact of the festival itself,C Anderson said.

That combines all types of visitors supporting various food booths as well as shopping at any local businesses and the lodging and gas they use, he said.

&#8220I would consider that it brings in ,1 million or maybe ,2 million,C Headrick said. &#8220It/s easily in the millions with the Flower Show, flower girls, the festival itself at Ryon Park and the flower fields.C

Headrick said the Flower Festival also can have a carryover effect, convincing visitors to return to Lompoc at other times.

&#8220We want to say to tourists that we are here year-round and you might want to come back,C he said.

Ryan McMaster can be reached at 737-1057 or rmcmaster@lompocrecord.com.

June 17, 2007