The first of two planned pay-to-view Christmas tree lightings was held Saturday night at Brownwood Paddock Square.
A small crowd of Villagers sat in a roped off section to watch the annual event that in the past has been free to all Villagers – regardless of where they sat or stood in the town square areas.
The Villagers who partook in the “VIP Experience” paid either $50 per ticket, $80 per couple or $225 for a table for six. They were promised two free drink tickets, appetizers provided by an unnamed vendor and access to a VIP tent and cash bar, as well as reserved seating and “direct access into the square.”
At about 7:30 p.m. there were 18 people in the VIP area, which was located under a flea-market-type white tent with lights strung across the top of it. The medium-sized, open-air tent was located at the back of Paddock Square in a walkway area between two seats of permanent bleachers. Guards were posted at each entrance to the tent, which held five small tables with white tablecloths and about 30 armless metal folding chairs.
The caterer turned out to be Dickey’s Barbecue Pit at Grand Traverse Plaza, where the average complete meal sells for about $11.50. The aluminum trays of food brought in didn’t appear to include a warming device, which was a much different story from the July 4th “VIP Experience” that included appetizers from the nearby high-end seafood restaurant Bluefin Grill & Bar. And those in the VIP seating area appeared to be underwhelmed with the “VIP Experience” and did not take advantage of the “direct access” to the dance floor.
Two workers from Dickey’s cleared out of the VIP area at about 7:15 p.m. and within minutes one couple had pushed back the now-empty food table and moved their table and chairs closer to the front of the tent in hopes of getting a better view of the stage and ultimately the Christmas tree that was waiting to be lit. There also didn’t appear to be a cash bar located inside the VIP tent.
The event was billed as being sold-out, which would indicate the maximum amount taken in by The Villages Entertainment Department was $1,500, though it was surely less with some of the VIPers purchasing the couples’ deal. With less than an hour to go before the official tree-lighting ceremony, it didn’t appear that any of the tables held six guests. Some of them could have been dancing at the time, purchasing items at several different food trucks or playing Skee-ball, though it would have been difficult to do so because of the extremely large crowd that attended the event.
The stage where Blue Stone Circle was performing was actually difficult to see, as the dance floor and the area immediately in front of the VIP tent was crowded with Villagers and other guests who didn’t use the pay-to-view option. Those sitting in bleachers directly beside the VIP tent actually had a better view, as their seats were higher up. And many Villagers who were sitting in chairs a good distance in front of the VIP tent entrance clearly had a better view of the stage and the area where the Christmas tree was located.
One couple who was standing outside VIP area expressed their views on the pay-to-view seating arrangement.
“Was it $50 per person?” a man asked his wife.
“Yes, or $80 per couple,” she responded.
“Not worth it,” the husband fired back as he walked away from the VIP tent.
The second pay-to-view tree-lighting event is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 5 at Lake Sumter Landing Market Square. It’s unclear what areas of the typically packed town square will be roped off for the VIP section, or how much seating or standing room it will take away from those who will follow tradition and pay nothing to attend the event.
The other tree-lighting event will be held Monday, Dec. 2 at Spanish Springs Town Square. Those attending that event near the Historic Section of the community where an older population resides weren’t afforded the opportunity to partake in the “VIP Experience,” as that tree lighting wasn’t included in the pay-to-view schedule.
The idea of offering pay-to-view seating at Christmas tree lightings has proven highly unpopular with Villages residents, many of whom have expressed anger and disappointment at The Villages Entertainment Department’s decision to do so. Residents have expressed concerns about segregating the haves and the have-nots through the pay-to-view option. And they’ve questioned the possibility of other events that in the past were free suddenly joining the ranks of the pay-to-view offerings.
The idea of offering paid seating at a town square event first surfaced during the July 4 celebration at Brownwood. Like the pay scenarios to watch Christmas tree lightings, it completely broke with the philosophy of Villages Founder Harold Schwartz and his son, retirement community guru H. Gary Morse, which promised all residents a “millionaire’s lifestyle on a retirement budget.”
Along those same lines, Schwartz and Morse also stressed that it didn’t matter if Villagers lived in affordable villas or multimillion-dollar homes or whether they had been high-level executives or blue-collar workers, once they signed on the dotted line to live in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown, the playing field was equal. Two of the examples that constantly were hammered home to employees over the years were free golf for life on executive courses and free town square entertainment 365 days a year, barring inclement weather.
The choice to charge pay-to-view seating at Brownwood and Lake Sumter Landing also has raised some eyebrows because The Villages receives $120,000 in tax money from the Sumter County Commission to offset the cost of entertainment. Spanish Springs isn’t included as part of that payout because it’s located in Lake County.
