Packet: Tiffin City Council Work Session (09/01/2026)

The two-day format also provided additional opportunities for community engagement and allowed the City to offer both an active Friday evening and a larger festival-style Saturday celebration. Staff believes the success of the 2026 Rec Fest provides a strong foundation for continuing to grow the event in future years and establishing it as one of Tiffin's signature annual community events. Placer.ai Event Analysis & Demographics Report The 2026 Rec Fest demonstrated a strong regional draw and meaningful engagement from attendees. According to Placer.ai, the event attracted approximately 2,000 visitors and generated 2,100 visits, with an average dwell time of 114 minutes. This nearly two- hour average indicates that attendees were not simply stopping by briefly but were spending a significant amount of time participating in activities, enjoying the entertainment, and engaging with vendors and other event offerings. The geographic reach of the event was particularly notable. Approximately 25% of visits came from Tiffin, meaning the majority of attendees came from outside the community. Rec Fest attracted visitors from North Liberty, Iowa City, Coralville, Oxford, Solon, Cedar Rapids, and other surrounding communities, demonstrating that the event is developing into a regional attraction rather than serving solely as a local community event. The attendance patterns also closely aligned with staff observations during the event. While Friday's 5K and evening activities were successful despite weather concerns, Saturday was the primary draw, with the vast majority of visits occurring that day. Activity increased significantly during the afternoon and remained strong throughout the evening, with peak activity occurring during the core Saturday programming between approximately 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. The 2026 Placer.ai report also provides the City with an important baseline for evaluating future Rec Fest events. Moving forward, this data can be used to compare attendance, visitor origin, dwell time, and regional reach from year to year and help staff 8