Chamber of Commerce President Frank Ferrara thinks the organization’s two annual arts and crafts festivals deliver a huge economic thrust for the town.

Hopefully, within a month, he will have a better estimate of the impact -- from gas stations to hotels, small retail shops to cafes -- and the extent of the spin-off effect from 500 artists attracting upwards of 225,000 visitors to town on the three-day weekends.

The Chamber has hired an Arizona State University master’s degree candidate in tourism studies to analyze the economic benefits of The Great Fair in February and the Festival of the Arts and Crafts in November.

Ferrara told the Fountain Hills/Fort McDowell Visitors Bureau at its March 3 meeting that Nicole Hugo began surveying the public at the most recently concluded Great Fair.

She was retained for a minimum of one month for about 240 hours on an hourly fee, said Ferrara.

In the past Ferrara has disseminated statistics about the festivals’ economic effects.

Previous feedback has indicated that an objective assessment by a non-Chamber officer should be forthcoming.

Ferrara said he anticipates releasing the results … “good or bad, here it is,” by early April.

Great Fair attendance projections Feb. 26-28 were lower than previous years at 151,000, said Chamber events producer Sharon Morgan. Sunday’s rain reduced the crowd to about 10,000, said Morgan.

“It was the first time in 10 or 11 years that weather battered the show,” said Ferrara. “Still, it was pretty good.”

Rory Majenty, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation representative, suggested that the bureau begin planning for the state’s centennial anniversary of statehood.

Arizona became the 48th and the last of the contiguous states to enter the union.

Beginning in 2011 and culminating on Statehood Day, Feb. 14, 2012, the state will celebrate with a calendar of activities to commemorate the state’s diverse nature, economic growth and development.

“It could be a huge benefit for all of us,” said Majenty.

He described a customized motorcycle, The Copper Chopper, which will tour the state for 18 months to promote the centennial.

Paul Youffe of Orange County Choppers will design and build the cycle. It will visit communities with a motorcycle safety and education exhibit about the state’s history. Raffle tickets will be sold for a chance to win the cycle at each of its stop.

Majenty said Fountain Hills/Fort McDowell should be included in its itinerary.

Town Community Affairs and Media Relations Administrator Katie Decker said an ad hoc group is forming to address the town’s involvement.

One idea is to compile 100 local events between September 2011 and December 2012 and re-brand them as centennial activities, said Decker.

Bureau director Mark McDermott said Fort McDowell Radisson was the successful bidder for the “Open Minds” conference Feb. 16-20, 2011.

Open Minds is a Phoenix-based multi-media company that also publishes a magazine, produces a radio show and devotes a Web site to UFO phenomena.

The last conference in Laughlin had 700 pre-registered and between 150-250 walk-ins for any given conference session.