BEMUS POINT — Village officials are declaring the 2019 Fall Fest a success and hope it will be even bigger in 2020.

Bemus Point’s Fall Fest 2019, which took place last weekend, had its biggest turnout with 30 vendors lining Main Street — double the amount from 2018. The Festival Planning Committee reported that most of the vendors have already signed up to return in 2020.

“The festival keeps getting bigger and better,” Mayor Bryan Dahlberg said.

“This year we had double the vendors from last year. Next year we hope to double that number again.”

The main concern the Village Board had was safety and spreading the vendors out more.

This year, a walkway was created to help the flow of foot traffic, and according to Dahlberg, it really helped keep people off the street.

He noted that with the increase in attendance this year, there were still people walking out into the street.

“Every year, we have a problem with keeping people out of the path of cars,” Dahlberg said. “We start making a list for next year with suggestions. Having a walkway really helped this year, but we need to do more.”

One of the suggestions made was to close Main Street to vehicles, allowing vendors and visitors to spread out more. Concerns were raised by some of the board members about traffic flow and parking.

“During the festival, most drivers know to use caution,” Dahlberg said.

“However, most people want to look at the vendors while they’re driving past, and they’re not always watching where they’re going.”

Trustee Margaret Richardson added that most businesses don’t get deliveries during the festival, so there wouldn’t be a problem with trucks getting around. She said there are detours around Main Street that cars could use.

The board is also hoping to spread the vendors out more so that it leads people towards areas with less traffic, citing how cramped the vendor tents appeared to be this year.

Dahlberg said they’re considering having the row of vendors continue around the corner at the lake side of Main Street, but the vendors would have to be more evenly spread so people will know they’re there.

The Bemus Point Business Association is hoping to create a committee for Fall Fest next year, separate from the Winterfest Committee.

The committee reported that everybody was happy with the festival and the fireworks, put on by the Bemus Point Golf Club and Tap House, played a big part in the festival’s success.