Macdonald buys Frozen Dead Guy Days

Barbara Lawlor

Nederland

It is only fitting. After coordinating the Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival for the last two years, Nederland resident Amanda Macdonald has purchased the event from the Nederland Area Chamber of Commerce.

Last spring, the Nederland Area Chamber of Commerce announced that it was not going to sponsor any more events and that it would only deal with the business of business promotion. The chamber was looking for a buyer.

Macdonald joined Teresa Warren in putting together the 2005 FDGD for the chamber. She has been in Nederland since 1994.

“I used to go to the early FDGD and was critical of how it was being run,” she said, “and someone asked me why I didn’t take it over. In 2005, we had the best festival ever. It was great weather. We were on Jay Leno and it was a big year.”

When Macdonald’s husband passed away, she stopped working until 2009 when the festival needed someone to coordinate it. She stepped up to the plate and revived the FDGD, winning the Governor’s Award for the best commercial event in Colorado.

In 2010 and 2011, the festival featured an additional tent and the closing of First Street for event activities. It became a safer, more organized festival with a more welcoming feel for the 10,000 to 15,000 visitors who attended the weekend.

Macdonald said it is a misconception that Frozen Dead Guy Days lost money. She said last year’s profits were the same as the year before, both years better than previous years, but the expenses increased.

“We ended up overbuying merchandise; however, the summer sales made up for the surplus. We sold out. There were some other frustrating expenses. We had to pay for more snow; we bought fencing for the parade and hired extra police officers. The festival was safer and more manageable, but cost more.”

Macdonald is seeking sponsors for this year’s festival, which will take place in March 2012. Four months isn’t very much time to plan for Nederland’s largest event of the year. She knows most people want to see the festival continued. It is that extra financial push that helps businesses hang in through the long winter that lasts until Memorial Day.

The website has been launched: frozendeadguys.org, and Winter Scene Magazine has already purchased the first advertisement. Macdonald has come up with a VIP package, with a limit of 50, which will include a ticket to the Blue Ball, a tour of the Frozen Dead Guy’s home, a t-shirt, free entrance into events, a bottomless cup, VIP parking and a catered lounge and all for $150 for the weekend. She has already sold two VIP tickets, which leaves only 48 more.

This year’s event will be town friendly, zero waste and is still in the planning stages. Macdonald is open to ideas and is happy to be the proud new owner of the festival.

“I was the best shot at keeping it in town rather than giving it up to a Denver production company.” The contract was finalized on Nov. 1.