Before it is flooded with drunken festgoers, the infamous field of the past two Number Fests is just that — an open field.
But after 13 hours of work and $50,000, the clearing, located about a half-mile from the Southeast Beverage Company off West Union Street, is transformed to accommodate thousands of attendees, a main stage, food and merchandise vendors, and a VIP “party zone.”
And this year, with the Number Fest’s move to the fall, the crew had only four months to plan the event as opposed to a full year.
“It’s definitely been a challenge, but with the team that we have … everyone has stepped up to the plate,” said Dominic Petrozzi, the founder of Number Fest. “It’s been a challenge to turn it around in such a short amount of time and it’s been different, but we don’t expect any drop in value in the event.”
Despite the fast turnaround, the crew was able to harness the attention of multiple sponsors, including Red Bull and 15 different artists headlined by the beats of Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J.
Petrozzi teams up with Prime Social Group, a production company based in Columbus, for the entertainment side of the event. Then, Chris Schroeder, the Prime Social Group events director and Number Fest production manager, handles the overall production.
“Obviously, Dominic has done a heck of a job putting the festival together in the past, and what we’re trying to do is to bring the party to the next level, to make it more of a festival and not just a crazy party in a field,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder said his main responsibility is to make sure each detail is taken care of, including the entertainment, audio, lighting and vendors.
“My goal is to try to find the right companies to provide the right special effects, stage lights and so on that can help us produce a great quality festival within budget,” he said.
While patrons see only one side of the process, Schroeder said it takes 13 hours to transform the venue, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. on Friday.
In addition, $50,000 of the budget for the fest is set aside for the stage, sound and lighting.
“People think it’s just ‘pull the trailer up and put up the stage,’ but it’s very specific, making sure it’s angled correctly, level, and measurements are correct,” Schroeder said. “It’s a two-day process, and it could even be three if we wanted it to be.”
Petrozzi said that about 15–20 workers who specialize in entertainment set-up and take-down are brought in to set the stage. The event team also includes 50 fest and Prime Social Group employees and more than 125 law enforcers, firefighters and rescue workers.
The large unit then works together to ensure that the thousands in attendance have a wild, crazy and safe experience until the field is void of screaming fans. They then move in again, and by 2 a.m., all that remain are the imprints in the ground of thousands of feet.
“It’s a pretty complex process, but our team in general, from corporate level all the way to the local representatives on campus, are a very special group of people that work extremely hard,” Petrozzi said.
lf328610@ohiou.edu
