Castle Boo — Local services in Thomasville

So my family and friends went here last night to support and enjoy our friends band, Past Tymes. It was a very nice place but unfortunately we had a negative experience. Beyond the pleasing aesthetics, there were some downsides. First, they charge $10 to park (cash only), then another $10 cover charge per person (including children at the same price). And the cost of things like a cup of beer at $7 for Yeungling, a bottle of soda $4 and a slice of pizza for $6.

They had some nice inflatable attractions such as the Velcro dart throwing which was fun and a bouncy house with a slide for kids. My daughter was told she needed to wear socks on it and she did only to find out at the bottom of the slide was completely saturated and ruined her socks for the rest of the night.

Also, they have VIP seating at nice tables with comfortable chairs and a gas fire pit built into each table but they told us we would have to pay more if we wanted to sit there (understandable if there is a large concert going on). There were only about 8 people listening to the music in this huge outdoor area (6 of those people came with me) and everyone had to sit at these picnic tables. Pretty unreasonable for the price of entry versus the amount of people who showed up.

Next, the rules of this place were not clear upfront about smoking or vaping. apparently there is a designated smoking area approximately 300 feet of a walk away in the far corner of the outdoor yard (right next to the children’s bouncy house). After we were told as to where the “smoking” area was, we complied and went there to smoke, however, I made the poor mistake of vaping outside of the smoking section, to which the security guard nicely told me that vaping also had to be done in the smoking section.

After, my friends and I did go to the smoking section apparently, the vaping incident was reported and the owner approached me and told me to leave for being warned “multiple times”.

All in all, this place could do well to post specific rules for their guests Some signs maybe at the entrance, the VIP area, the bouncy house and the smoking area. Also, they should include a FAQ page on their website about these things, including parking information (10 dollars, cash only).

Edit: After searching through the website, you can find this information by clicking the more info button under the music events, then scroll all the way down past contact info. Then click on...

Having been in customer service for 30+ years, there’s many improvements that can be made. Trying to host a super band as your first concert in 90° heat requires a lot of preparation. Although they seemed to acknowledge the shortcomings, it didn’t really help. I will say that because the cost was very reasonable, that did take the sting out of the experience a little bit. The venue is underway trying to do different things, which is great. But you were hosting an event for a generation of adults that come from a different mindset of being prepared. I’ve seen the other comments which are scathing and deservedly so. The bands were absolutely amazing and ARS was a bucket list band for me.

Here are some key faux pas: ◦ People paid for tickets online and still had to wait in line with other people that were buying their tickets at the venue. The event was first come first serve seating. ◦ One person for the first 40 minutes wanding people for security, then two different people banding past that, stopping the line every few minutes because they got backed up. ◦ Standing in line for drinks for 30 to 45 minutes because, although there were five people on each side, three people would be standing waiting because they were only serving pizza or getting water or getting beer, instead of being versatile enough to do one or the other. ◦ Three porta John’s (A general rule of thumb is one porta John per 100 people)

Thankfully, they were dealing with a levelheaded, mature crowd whereas had it been a different age group, the evening could have easily gone south. And couple that with the heat, not a pretty picture.

The venue itself is set up to be a great little area, but the owners have a lot to learn. This is not something you just wing it and try to do. You really need to go see firsthand from a successful venue. Put the extra time and money into learning and people. That will grow your business and provide the results that you’re...

So we attended the Atlantic Rhythm Section Concert. This is a debacle right now as a venue. They had V.I.P. seating and a “meet & Q & A” that was nice, however several who had NOT paid for the upgraded seats were allowed to enter and participate. The “MC” Gary made horrific negative aged jokes constantly about the audience and then asked us to return. Why? To be subjected to more abuse? The guys screening at entry were obviously novices and because of that, the concert started extremely late due to the long lines. The first band was very amateurish and screamed through their set. The three stars are for the Venue, not the headliner. ARS are still amazing. My advice to Castle Boo: Train your people better for vetting and crowd management. Teach the MC to understand their audience. It would be a simple task to install shade canvases over the VIP section and cooling devices for the bands so they don’t suffocate trying to play. Hopefully things will improve. I will be watching the revues before...