Garden Show & Festival Site Report Gartenlust Schloss Dyck (with garden market and advice) Authors: Bennis 1: Key Facts Name: Gartenlust Schloss Dyck Show Category: Plant and horticultural supplies, lifestyle Location: Stiftung Schloss Dyck, 41363 Jüchen Germany Venue: Gardens of Schloss Dyck Gross Floor Area: not known Dates: 19-22 June 2014 Origins: 2003 Theme: no specific theme for four years Title: Garden Pleasures (or Delight) Opening Times: 10.00-19.00 Ticket Prices: At the Gate Advanced Adult €12 €10 Concession € 9 € 7 Child (7-16) € 1.50 € 1 2. Visitor Facts (2013) Number of Visitors: 15,000 Age Groups: 55+ Private Visitors: no information Professional Visitors: Reasons for Attendance: Visitor Assessment: Origin of Local Visitors: 50-70 kilometres Home/Garden Ownership: Intention to invest in a garden: 3. Exhibitor Facts Total Number of Exhibitors: 150 Main Exhibitor Goals and Attainment: Rating ‘good’ to ‘very good’ Ratings of Target Visitor Groups Market Positioning 4: Location & Facilities The castle and the park is in the Lower Rhine, near Düsseldorf and is located northwest of Aldenhoven in the community Juechen in Rhein-Kreis Neuss , between Grevenbroich and Mönchengladbach . Easiest access is by private car as the area is not very well served by public transport. Bus shuttle from Düsseldorf but operates at a loss There are full facilities at the castle/park and additional facilities for the show including food and toilet facilities. Large scale parking facilities Site is easily accessible for disabled 5: Exhibitions & Show Gardens Display garden under construction Existing display gardens One garden/landscape designer had a stall at the show. Live music takes place every day The show takes place in and around existing demonstration gardens and is essentially a market for garden products: plants, food, horticulture, garden furniture, lifestyle, books. 6: Associated/Parallel Events Schloss Dyck fun a full programme of events throughout the year in the castle and grounds. There are no other or parallel off-site events associated with the show 7: Awards The garden show is not a competition and, hence, there are no awards. 8: Exhibitor Terms & Conditions Charges for a stand/site range from €300 for a small site and between €1000-2000 for larger sites for the full show period. €35 for electricity supply Exhibitors may hire a shelter or provide their own. Shelters/tents must be white. Exhibitors must submit proposal with supporting photographs of their products, and/or exhibits at other shows For full information contact Schloss Dyck estate office for details. 9: Exhibitor Contracts Contact Schloss Dyck estate office for details. 10: Show History The show is in the 11th year and takes place three times per annum: spring, summer, and autumn. 11: Marketing Range of social media is used Posters and displays on the streets and shops in Düsseldorf, Aachen and Köln Posters and displays in regional airports No displays in train stations 12: Site Photographs Photo 1: The estate with gardens, parkland and castle offers a variety of spaces for a garden show with easy access within the site for disabled visitors. Photo 2-3: There are two entrance/exit points for the garden show. The left photo above is near the castle, while the other is near the car park and permanent shops. There is no major statement/design feature as you enter the gardens Photos 4-11: Range of tradestalls that are typical to garden shows. However, a craftsman produces brushes and a garden designer answers visitor’s questions. Photo 12-14: The tower crane, a popular and free feature, gives otherwise unobtainable views. Photo left is one of the existing gardens designed as a water park for children. Photo 15-17: Photos to the left show an ornamental kitchen garden. A tradestall can be seen to the left of the upper photo. Above, an example of a miniature garden built by children Photo 18-19: A new show garden being built during the show. The garden will remain when finished with the contractor responsible for the management for a fixed period. There are several sponsors for the garden. Photo 20-24: The site operates in two areas with easy access between them. More plants and garden ornaments are exhibited outdoors; there are few tradestalls indoors. A large restaurant area is in front of the orangery, photo to the left. Photo 25-26: Collapsible litter bins provide in inexpensive and temporary solution, and they require very little storage space. Above right, posters advertising future events at Schloss Dyck 13: Organisation and Contacts Stiftung Schloss Dyck. Schloss Dyck. 41363 Juechen Germany Telephone +49 (0)2182-824-109. http://www.stiftung-schloss-dyck.de/ 14: Sponsorship Show garden under construction Telescopic tower 15: Economic Impact Employment: 25-40 staff are involved in arrangements for parking, tickets and dependent on day of the week. Extra staff for technical aspects, porterage and staff for preparing the garden. Increased sales for displayed products. Most are exhibitors are from the region 16: Interviews Jens Spanjer provided much of the information for this survey. Other information has come from the website and personal observation 17: Summary & Conclusions 17.1 Location and General: The setting of the castle and associated buildings, combined with newer restaurant, shops and display gardens provide a good environment for the show. This gives a good backdrop for the displays. Paths are wide and level making it suitable for disabled access. The location of the site near major urban areas allows for high population catchment area; however, this means it is not accessible with public transport. A shuttle service operates from Düsseldorf but at a loss. Visitor numbers have had a steady increase with the rising number of trade stalls over the eleven years of operation. Its popularity is also demonstrated by virtue of the fact that there are three seasonal shows per annum. Unlike other shows, Saturday is relatively low on visitor numbers as this is a prime shopping day since shops are closed on Sundays in Germany. Sunday sees a substantial increase in visitor numbers; it may also account for the higher visitor numbers that they can purchase items on a Sunday at the show. The show has a relaxed and informal atmosphere. This is partly due to the layout and that there is usually a good amount of space between the stands. It may in part also be a result that there is no real competition for awards as in other shows. There is no demographic survey of the visitors. Mr Spanjer stated that he ‘just happy that they came’. 17.2 Exhibitions: Tradestalls are spread across the site and mixed in terms product type The show has grown from 30-40 exhibitors to 150 in eleven years. Friends of Schloss Dyck run a food stall for waffles and the profits are given to the foundation To ensure and improve quality, exhibitors must submit an illustrated proposal All shelter structures are required to be white to give a uniformity The use of all structures being exactly the same has been avoided as it would be too formal All stands were manned and most had leaflets or additional printed information New for 2014 are children activities including making miniature gardens. The telescopic tower is popular with children as well as adults Building a garden during the show period has not been found at any other garden show Good range of food outlets 17.3 Issues: Few visitors seem to have visited the garden under construction In general, the existing display garden areas were very quiet with visitors While seating was adequate on a quiet day, there would be a shortage on busy days .