Welcome Back Bash hails winter visitors

Winter visitors are back in Yuma once more to escape the cold, and local businesses invited them to come out to the Annual Winter Visitor Bash Tuesday to show them just how important they are to the local economy.

More than 60 booths were open for business on Main Street in downtown Yuma to serve thousands of men and women who browsed displays of food, crafts, jewelry, clothing items and housewares.

Winter visitors are what the event was all about, said Adrianne Wagner, marketing manager of The Sun, one of the sponsors of the event.

"It's a great way to let the winter visitors know that we appreciate them," she said. "We help organize this event to help local businesses connect with the people who need their services."

That is why Bill Bowles, who co-owns Das Bratwurst Haus with his wife, comes out every year to the bash to serve up juicy wieners and other scrumptious German food.

"When we first started our business, one of the first things we did was set up at the Winter Visitor Bash," he said. "The event makes the snowbirds feel welcome back here in Yuma. Snowbirds like to be catered to and pampered. This event helps them feel loved and satisfies their desires. During the summer we don't get much business because it is too hot. This event gives us the opportunity to let people know we exist, and to connect with them. Business absolutely picks up in the winter months, and I'm glad the snowbirds are back."

Local radio station KAWC, also set up a booth at the event.

"We are here to promote the radio station," said Dave Riek, general manager at KAWC. "We are doing a survey to learn more about the Yuma market, and to expand the visibility of the station to the winter visitors. Some of them are excited to hear that we broadcast some of the exact same programs in Yuma as they listen to back home. This is a perfect day, it's just beautiful."

John Chorm, a regular winter visitor who hails from Canada, is glad that he and his compatriots are made to feel welcome in Yuma.

"There are places that criticize snowbirds," Chorm said," but we don't feel unwelcome in Yuma. After I retired, I started coming down for the whole season from October through April. We like to get out of the cold. When you get older, you don't like to roll around in the snow anymore, so we come for the warm climate, and for the many friends that we have met here."

Chorm says that even though Canada is experiencing the recession right along side the United States, the economy isn't stopping anyone he knows from heading south, but it is effecting what they buy, and how they budget their money.

"We sold our fifth-wheel and bought a permanent lot of land at Country Roads RV Park," he said. "All 1,200 of the sites at the park are full this year. The Canadian dollar is worth less than the American dollar, and even though the conversion rate is just lousy, we just budget better to make it through. With all the doom and gloom, a lot of people just seem scared to spend their money. We don't spend anymore or less money than in previous years, but we get less stuff."

This year, the Yuma Community Food Bank decided to partner with The Sun by combining the first day of the farmers market with the Winter Visitor Bash to get more people involved with both.

"This is bigger than our normal opening day," said Shelly Barbato, events manager at the YCFB. "The vendors are lined up over the entire block instead of just half of it."

Barbato says that the YCFB sets up the farmers market to help raise funds so that the hungry in Yuma County can get what they need to feed their families.

"We hope that this event will show the community that we need even more help than ever," she said.

Barbato pointed out that donations from the public are down and the demand for their services are up, which are both a side-effect of the recession.

"We usually have just enough to supply our families," she said, "but donations of food and money have been less this year. Our shelves are pretty much bare right now. We are seeing a lot of people who are coming to the YCFB for the first time because they can't afford to pay the bills and buy food. People are often stuck between a rock and a hard place, and they're forced to make the decision between utilities and food, or the rent. The YCFB allows people to survive, and pay their bills."

Barbato says that the YCFB is still reeling from a demanding summer.

"We get hit harder during the summer, because farm workers don't have any work, and students on vacation aren't getting to eat their meals at school instead of at home. These families now have to provide to extra meals per child per day, and that can add up quick."

Barbato says that all of the fresh produce comes free of charge from area farms.

"The produce is supplied by local farmers," she said, "because they are aware of the hungry people in need. None of the food sold at the farmers market is taken from families in need, and the money generated actually helps them in the end."

Barbato says that the farmers market will be held between 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. every Tuesday from now until March.

Wagner is hopeful that the event will continue to be a Yuma tradition far into the foreseeable future.

"It gets people involved and in touch with the community," she said, "and we hope that it will continue to get bigger."