Was this the best Hangout Festival ever? We would need to poll the hundreds of thousands of people the festival has brought to the Gulf Shores area. But after listening to many attendees, local businesses and the City of Gulf Shores staff members this was one of the best events ever.

The Hangout Festival has traditionally kicked off the summer season since 2010. Each year an estimated 40,000 festival goers come from around the nation to listen to the music and soak-up the fun on the Alabama beaches. Numerous visitors have come from other countries as well. Even if we assume that 50% are regulars to the festival, that means that 20,000 new people are exposed to the area and return home to tell friends about the southern charm and beauty of the local beaches.

Every year the music lineup is announced and some people complain because their favorite act is not mentioned. Luckily there are professionals within the Hangout Group that select a wide variety of performers to entertain a crowd with a vast taste in music. This year's lineup included Megan Maroney and Zach Bryan from country music, Lana Del Ray from alt-pop and Odeza from electronic dance. There were many other acts to fill the three days of the festival.

There was also a wide age range in attendees, and the acts were scheduled to times for the appropriate crowds. During an event recap at the Gulf Shores City Council meeting a local attendee commented that he took his 4 year old daughter during the day and she enjoyed the arts, play area and other festival offerings.

Local restaurants, lodging and other businesses stated that the crowd was peaceful and a great way to get their staffs ready for the oncoming summer season. One business owner added that the event helps them at a time which was traditionally slow.

That was the same sentiment shared during the City Council meeting, held the day after the festival ended. The month of May used to be much slower for tourism and local business would jump into summer with untrained staff. Many along the Alabama coast have mentioned how they now hire staff earlier and appreciate the significant "bump" in business from the Hangout Festival.

Members of the community are always concerned about what type of crowd the festival may bring. Certainly over the years there have been some troubles. This year's phrase for the overall summary was "smooth."  From the Chief of Police to the Gulf Shores Fire Chief, there were comments of praise. Much of their enthusiasm came from the experience and team-work their staffs provided.

Chief Delmore of the Gulf Shores Police reported 94 arrests during the festival, primarily for drug-related offenses and public intoxication. Despite these incidents, the overall safety of the event was maintained, thanks to the collaboration with local and county law enforcement agencies. The Chief emphasized the importance of this cooperation, especially given the city's medium-sized police and fire departments. Departments that helped with law enforcement included the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Dept, Orange Beach Police, Foley Police, Homewood Police Dept, and federal partners all cooperated in law enforcement efforts this past weekend, all in the interest of keeping people safe.

The Fire Chief highlighted the efficient handling of medical emergencies. The fire department's strike teams and first aid tents, staffed by nursing students, played a crucial role in managing incidents ranging from minor injuries to severe dehydration cases. The Chief noted that setting up rehab tents outside the main stages helped prevent many heat-related issues from escalating. They plan to have these more available next year. 

Fire Chief Mark Sealy said, “We had a great weekend. Every year since I’ve been here I think it’s the smoothest it’s gone for sure. From what I’ve heard, it’s continued to get better every year. Certainly, we have some things we need to fine tune for next year. You always want to try to make it better.”

Grant Brown with the City of Gulf Shores added, “It’s no secret that Hangout Music Festival occurred this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it was a very successful event regarding the cooperation between all of our city staff, our city departments, fire department, our police department, public works our IT staff our revenue department, our finance department, our procurement department. It truly does take all of us working together to be able to provide the support for not only just the festival-goers and the festival production group, but for the remaining residents that are within the city because at any one time while the festival is going on, there's still a city to run and operate. And I can proudly stand here before you and say that all that was done with an excellent collection of workers."

Mayor Craft closed the Council meeting reminding everyone that their would be a full review of the event in the near future and that the city would listen seek public comments before moving forward on a new contract with the Hangout Festival.

A local business owner summarized the importance of the festival to the area: "If we have 10 to 20,000 new people enjoy our area, how many will return in the future? How many will grow up and bring their future families? How many are going home and telling others about what a great place Gulf Shores is to visit?"