Phelim McCabe, chairman, Virginia Pumpkin Festival
What is unique about your festival?
Our pumpkins. We are the only ones in Ireland doing a pumpkin festival. The pumpkins are our marketing tool.
Virginia is a tiny town but has become really well known in various European countries, especially in growing circles, as a result of the festival, which this year kicks off on Friday with a haunted forest walk. The walk in itself is also quite distinctive. Deerpark Woods in Virginia, which are naturally spooky as it is, are transformed into a place where ghosts, ghouls and all sorts of creatures slither, groan and jump out at you.
How important is the Virginia Pumpkin Festival to the local economy?
People come to the festival from all over Ireland and Europe. We have pumpkin growers coming from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium and the UK. Every hotel and BB in the area will be full. Between 4,000 and 5,000 people live in Virginia, yet more than 25,000 descend on the area for the festival. It is worth €3.5 million to the local community.
What would you say has been the biggest challenge?
Co-ordinating people. We have in the region of 180 stewards involved. There is a lot involved in the safety of the haunted walk, the parade, the fireworks, etc.
It can be very hard to predict the number of people that will turn up for each event. We organised a haunted forest walk last year and thousands of people turned up for it.
There is also a lot of organisation involved in the festival. For example, we arrange the transport of the pumpkins from various countries for the competition. It can be complicated, as often they are very heavy. We had one winning pumpkin that weighed the same as a Mini Cooper car.
What are the effects of the economic downturn?
It has been much harder to get headline sponsors. We have to keep everything new and fresh now. We used to get a lot of money from a few main sponsors. Now we get a little bit of money from a lot of sponsors.
We get some help from Bord Fáilte and Cavan County Council but we’ve had to broaden our sponsorship base.
What has been your major success to date?
Bringing so many people together for the festival and the fact it is still going strong through the recession. A local man, Donal McEvoy of Pergola Nurseries, came up with the idea as similar festivals are widespread in Germany, and we are still going strong six years later.
Who would you admire most in business and why?
I admire Michael O’Leary. He has revolutionised the airline business, making Ireland more accessible to Europe and Europe more accessible for Irish people.
We have festival tickets sold in London and Paris to people from Virginia coming home for the weekend. They wouldn’t be able to do so as easily and cheaply if it weren’t for Ryanair. I like that O’Leary has the brashness of a schoolboy, who says it as it is, without worrying if he offends Government Ministers or EU officials.
What piece of advice would you give to the Government to stimulate the economy?
They should set up a fund to help local businesses, as it is very difficult to get money from the banks. Grants are available but often there’s a lot of red tape involved in getting grants. It should be easier to access funds.
Do you think the banks are open for business to SMEs at the moment?
The banks aren’t open for business at the moment. There are a couple of viable small businesses trying to set up in Virginia but they can’t get any funding from the banks.