Georgetown Red Poppy Festival returns; vendors hope for high sales

Georgetown Red Poppy Fest returns

The annual Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown kicked off Friday. FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski has more on how vendors are hoping the red poppies will put them into the black.

GEORGETOWN, Texas - The 27th annual Red Poppy Festival in Georgetown kicked off Friday.

The event is expected to bring people in the thousands to Williamson County this weekend.

What they're saying:

 Friday morning began with controlled chaos as more than 200 vendors started setting up. This small army of small business owners and city organizers are anticipating big crowds.

"This is a huge weekend, this is our biggest event of the year, for Georgetown. We have about 75,000 people that come out over the weekend," said Sharon Parker Georgetown’s special events coordinator.

Mary Hoang rolled in with her new food trailer for her first Red Poppy Festival.

"This whole trailer you see right here, it took over a year for me to design build and get it shipped in from Asia, paying port fees and now it’s going to shine this week," said Hoang.

Hoang wants those who attend to bring their appetites.

"I'm hoping that I make a little bit of money because I’m kind of in the hole right now, so we will see," said Hoang.

The three-day festival has proven to be a moneymaker. The dog treats made by Sally Pryor and her husband Don in Spring Branch are popular, making the annual event popular for them.

"I would say it’s in our top 3 absolutely. Absolutely I wouldn't miss this for nothing," said Don Pryor.

By the numbers:

Recent reports on consumer spending indicate disposable income nationally is slightly down. Festivities like the Red Poppy Festival can provide a glimpse at how the economy is performing on the local level.

For the Pryors, three days in Georgetown could generate up to $20,000 in sales.

It's also estimated that the festival's economic impact sits at $2.5 million and that a little more than half of the attendees are out-of-town visitors.

Dig deeper:

The festival honors the red poppy, a flower that grew from a gift given more than a century ago.

"We had a soldier that was over in WWI, over in France, and he loved the poppies, so he sent seeds home to his mom here in Georgetown. She planted them, and then between birds and bees and people, they started planting them everywhere, they spread and then we became the Red Poppy Capitol of Texas," said Parker.

What you can do:

Parking near the Square will be difficult so there will be shuttle buses at Georgetown and East View high schools.