Festival off Main Street organizers are planning an afternoon session to learn more about what it takes to make a winning festival.
Bill Ronay will be the featured speaker at the event, which is scheduled to begin at noon on May 5.
Mr. Ronay and his wife, Camille, operate A Step Ahead, Ltd. -- an event-planning company. Mr. Ronay consults with both big, established festivals as well as smaller, "beginner" events. He is currently under retainer with Callaway Gardens for the Muscadine Festival in September and has previously worked with the Macon International Cherry Blossom Festival; Arts in the Heart in Augusta; The Georgia Strawberry Festival in Reynolds, Ga.; and others.
Mr. Ronay was one of the first members of the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association's Festivals Council and on the founding board of the Georgia Festivals and Events Association (GFEA), a state chapter of the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA).
