The movie Downton Abbey served as the catalyst for the event, and WUFT worked with many local restaurants, a museum, print shops and retained a local sponsor to make the event both magical and memorable for all attendees.
Two tiers of admission were available: a general ticket was offered for a donation of $25 and included a ticket to see the new Downton Abbey movie, a WUFT tea towel and many opportunities for photos with cardboard cutouts of their favorite characters. The VIP ticket was available for a requested donation of $50 and included entry to the VIP area where the attendee enjoyed a seated afternoon tea on the terrace, accompanied by a live performance from a violinist.
Between both events, WUFT had over 600 attendees and over 300 individuals enter the costume contest. We cross promoted the event on WUFT-FM as a way to invite the radio audience to a WUFT-TV event. WUFT was able to fill six different movie theatres in two cities. With gearing up for the event on social media, the community was able to interact with each other and compete for the best costume by sharing ideas and photos online of their plans and where they were going to shop. We were able to leverage the excitement from our community for this local event and enhanced the in-person occasion with a museum bringing a special vehicle from the 1920’s for photos. We are excited about the potential for future events from our community including costume contests, props and additional involvement from local businesses.