In four hours, members of the Brick District Association made $21,000 from their April 23 Morels and Microbrews Festival in downtown Fulton.
"It was the perfect storm," said Garry Vaught, owner and operator of Beks restaurant, at Thursday's association meeting. "It was perfect weather, everybody came - it was amazing, and the band was awesome."
Next year, the date of the popular Fulton festival will move to the last weekend of April, he added. For the festival, 165 pounds of morel mushrooms were sold, with 100 of those pounds brought in from Oregon.
Vaught mentioned obtaining a third fryer for preparation of the mushrooms, and said preselling beer tickets would help avoid long lines.
"I'm so happy it turned out the way it did," he added.
Tom Riley, a downtown Fulton attorney, said this fourth-annual festival made nearly double the amount of money as it has in the past.
Bruce Hackmann, economic development director for the Callaway Chamber of Commerce, also talked about the success of the festival.
"It was about as a successful event as we've ever had," he said. "I've heard estimates of 3,000 or more people."
Association members are also looking forward to upcoming events, including the May 26-29 Callaway Plein Air Competition, the June 17-18 Fulton Street Fair and Autumn on the Bricks.
The farmers' market is up and running on Saturdays, and on May 21, members of the Ford Unlimited Car Club will come to town, eat lunch, and tour local museums.
Hackmann talked about a new brochure, the Retail Recruitment Guide, that can be given to prospects looking for new business locations in the Brick District.
"It was kind of a cooperative work of the Chamber of Commerce, the Brick District Association and the city of Fulton, specifically for the Brick District," he said.
For more information about the Brick District Association, go online to thebrickdistrict.com.