Dec 14, 2021A new Louisiana park is opening to the public this season with a family Christmas event that leverages radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled wristbands to allow food and drinks purchases with the tap of a wrist. The RFID bracelets are aimed at enabling the park not only to reduce queues and crowding at sales counters, but also to track sales, demographics and trends. Moncus Park, located in the City of Lafayette and Acadiana, has been several years in the making. Set in the geographic center of Lafayette, the former working farm for horses was targeted for commercial development before a "Save the Horse Farm" campaign was launched in 2005.
These days, Moncus Park is a nonprofit park that began construction in March 2018. It is intended to be a tourist attraction and revenue generator, as well as a green space that will host events including concerts, weddings and athletic competitions. An event called "Christmas in the Park" will run from Dec 16-29, says Mary Allie Hebert, Moncus Park's marketing strategist. For most visitors who attend the Christmas program, it will be their first chance to see what the new park offers, for the space was gated and closed to the public while it underwent renovations.
Fifty acres have been developed with a splashpad, a playground, an amphitheater, a paved loop for biking, a wetland pond, a tree house, a parking lot and the landscaping of 500 new trees. Going forward, the park is expected to feature community programming, environmental education, health and wellness education, and local markets. In the meantime, Christmas in the Park features a variety of activities with a holiday theme. Children's activities, such as a teddy bear tea, story time, and visits with Santa Claus, appeal to families, while the event includes live music from school and church choirs, a Christmas market and a general store for shopping, and an art gallery.
Food, as well as alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, are provided by local food vendors. The entry fee is $10 per person, but the entertainment is free, so coordinators needed a way to provide easy purchasing of food and drinks. They followed the lead of Festival International de Louisiane, which deployed RFID wristbands for its annual music and arts event in 2019 before the subsequent events went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were able to cut queue waits with the wristband data, as well as capture analytical data about customer behavior. "We had contacted them to see how they did it and they recommended RFID bands," Hebert says. "We're providing a cashless event."
Louisiana's Moncus Park
The RFID system used at Christmas in the Park consists of disposable passive HF RFID wristbands that transmit data at close range via 13.56 MHz, compliant with the ISO 15693 standard. The park has installed approximately 40 RFID reading stations, in addition to several top-up kiosks around the venue. Visitors first purchase their tickets at the website, then use a debit or credit account number to load a predetermined amount of money onto a dedicated digital wallet to be spent onsite.
As individuals arrive, they are provided with a wristband encoded with a unique ID number, which is linked to their account in the park's software. When a family visits the event, every member has their own bracelet and can have their own digital wallet for food and drink purchases. There are eight restaurants that sell local foods during the festival, including gumbo, jambalaya, stuffed potatoes and crawfish po boys. Bars and a beer garden are provided for adults. Additionally, the event offers merchandise for sale, including original artwork, though that is not part of the RFID wristband system.
Mary Allie Hebert
To make a purchase, an individual places an order and, when directed to pay, taps the bracelet near the reader to capture the unique ID and automatically deduct the sale amount from the digital wallet. The data is then forwarded to the event organizer's server, where users can view such details as the items being purchased, the time and vendor, and the buyer's demographics, such as their gender and age. Each food vendor has two RFID readers for payments. The solution is intended to make purchasing easier and faster than standard payment systems can accomplish, the company reports, and to thereby reduce queuing.
Keeping crowding limited not only makes sales quicker and more convenient, the organizers explain, but is important for preventing disease transmission. It enables people to make purchases without touching a keypad or handing over a credit card, Herbert says, and the data provides analytics. The value of that data, he adds, is key to the success of current and future events. The company can, for instance, determine the demographics of those who visit, as well as where they make purchases, ensuring that the most popular food and beverages are available at the times of heavy traffic. They can also determine the most popular venues for future events.
Once a wristband account is completely drained, users can proceed to a top-up station or a dedicated tent to apply more money to their account. After the event ends, Hebert says, they can then go home, and if there is a balance remaining on their account, they will be refunded that amount within seven days. Alternatively, they can return another day and still use the wristband, though they would need to pay a new entrance fee. If someone loses a bracelet, they can contact management and have their account frozen. "It's the equivalent of dropping a credit card," he states.
The organizers have a goal of serving approximately 40,000 people throughout the Christmas season, with several thousand visitors each night. The team's engineers have calculated the maximum number of people allowed per acre to meet a requirement of 6 feet of space per person, which is about 1,200 per acre. That means the site can accommodate as many as 7,000 people at any given time. If the RFID wristbands provide the anticipated benefits, the organizers expect that the system could be used for other organized events down the line.
