Our co-founder Ernie Hahn reinforced the game-changing aspect of Wonderfront Festival in an interview with the San Diego Reader. In today’s Blurt article, Ernie provided further insight into what differentiates Wonderfront from existing events and where those ideas originally stemmed from.
A proud San Diegan through-and-through, Ernie paid his respect to the city’s historic Street Scene, claiming it was “THE festival” prior to its closer in 2009. As a multi-venue festival, attendees were free to enter and exit the event at will, allowing them to avoid festival fatigue, an idea that has been carried through to Wonderfront.
With traditional venues preventing re-entry, festivalgoers are forced to plan their entire experience around a four-hour window before their stamina drops. For Ernie, “That is not a festival.” At Wonderfront, technology will help spectators avoid both fatigue and venue entrapment. Each guest will be provided with a RFID wristband allowing unlimited re-entry to any of the venues. Whether they want to try San Diego’s local food and drink at surrounding restaurants, or even go for a hotel powernap, their wristband allows them to do so, maximizing their enjoyment of the overall festival.
Ernie also revealed that he and co-founder Paul Thornton spent over six years searching for San Diego’s best location before settling on the waterfront. Following discussions over potential sites including Camp Pendleton and Fiesta Island, the Embarcadero-Seaport Village area proved the obvious choice. With immediate access to the Gaslamp Quarter, numerous hotels, and the best of Downtown, the freedom to explore America’s Finest City was deliberately placed at the heart of Wonderfront.