How We Handle Your Information.
Plain-English explanations of what we collect, why, and what we never do with your data. No surprises. No fine print buried at the bottom. Just the truth about our small-town festival's privacy practices.
What we will never do with your data.
A privacy policy is supposed to tell you what a company does with your information. We start with what we don't do, because that's what most people actually want to know.
We don't sell your data.
Not now, not ever, not to anyone. There is no scenario in which the festival sells, trades, or rents your personal information.
We don't track you off-site.
No Google Analytics, no Facebook pixel, no retargeting cookies. Once you leave our website, we have no visibility into where you go.
We don't send marketing emails.
The festival does not currently operate an email newsletter. If we ever do, it will be strictly opt-in and you can unsubscribe at any time.
We don't share with third parties.
Except for PayPal (which processes your payment when you donate or sponsor) and our own Gravity Forms (which lives on our own server), your data stays with us.
We collect the personal information you give us through forms (name, email, phone, application details) and use it only to respond to your inquiry, process your payment, or run the festival. PayPal handles donations and sponsorship payments. We do not use third-party analytics, tracking pixels, or advertising cookies. We don't sell, share, or trade your data. Form submissions are deleted 24 months after the festival date. If you want your data sooner, just email us.
The Full Policy
Twelve sections. Each one opens with a plain-English summary in bold, followed by the full details.
What We Collect
Only the information you choose to give us, plus basic server logs.
What We Collect
Only the information you choose to give us, plus basic server logs.
The Lexington Blueberry Festival collects two kinds of information:
Information you give us directly. When you fill out a form on this website — sponsorship inquiry, vendor application, pageant registration, parade entry, volunteer signup, donation, contact form, you give us your name, email address, phone number, and any other details the form asks for. We collect only what we ask for and only what you submit.
Information your browser sends automatically. Our web host (DreamHost) keeps standard server logs that include IP addresses, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps. These logs are used to keep the website running and to spot abuse. We do not link them to your form submissions.
We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook tracking pixels, or any third-party analytics tools on this website.
Why We Collect It
To run the festival, respond to you, and process the payments and applications you initiate.
Why We Collect It
To run the festival, respond to you, and process the payments and applications you initiate.
We collect personal information for clear, limited reasons:
- To respond to your inquiry or application. If you fill out the sponsor inquiry form, we use your contact details to follow up about sponsorship. Same for vendor applications, parade entries, volunteer signups, and pageant registrations.
- To process payments and donations. Sponsorships, vendor fees, and donations are processed through PayPal. PayPal handles your payment details directly — we never see or store your credit card information.
- To prevent spam and abuse. Server logs help us identify malicious traffic.
- To meet legal requirements. Retention of certain records (donations, vendor agreements) may be required by tax, accounting, or other laws.
That is the complete list. We do not collect data “just in case it might be useful later.”
Cookies & Tracking
A few WordPress cookies to make the site work. No tracking cookies. No third-party ad cookies.
Cookies & Tracking
A few WordPress cookies to make the site work. No tracking cookies. No third-party ad cookies.
This website uses a small number of cookies, all functional and first-party:
- WordPress session cookies — these only exist if you log in to the admin area of the site. Festival visitors do not get logged-in cookies.
- Comment/form cookies — if you fill out a comment or form, your browser may save your name/email so you don't have to re-type them. These are stored only on your device.
- Page cache cookies — our hosting provider may use technical cookies to speed up page delivery.
We do not use:
- Google Analytics or any other analytics service
- Facebook Pixel or any social-media tracking
- Advertising or retargeting cookies
- Cross-site tracking of any kind
You can clear or block cookies in your browser settings at any time. Doing so will not affect your ability to view the website, though logged-in admin features may not work without session cookies.
Forms & Registration Data
Each form on this site collects only the information that form asks for, and only for the purpose stated on that form.
Forms & Registration Data
Each form on this site collects only the information that form asks for, and only for the purpose stated on that form.
The festival operates a number of forms across the website. Here is what each one collects and why:
- Sponsor Inquiry — business name, contact name, email, phone, sponsorship interest. Used to follow up about sponsorship.
- Food Vendor Application — business details, menu, insurance information, signature. Used to evaluate and onboard food vendors.
- Business Vendor Application — business details and product/service description. Used to evaluate and onboard non-food vendors.
- Arts & Crafts Vendor Application — artist details, work description, booth preferences. Used to evaluate and onboard arts & crafts vendors.
- Pageant Registration — contestant name, age, parent/guardian contact, photo, signature. Used to enroll contestants and contact families.
- Parade Entry — organization name, contact info, entry description. Used to schedule and stage parade entries.
- Volunteer Signup — name, contact info, shift preferences, t-shirt size. Used to assign and contact volunteers.
- Donation — name, contact info, payment details (PayPal handled). Used to acknowledge donations and issue receipts.
- Contact Form — name, email, message. Used only to respond to your question.
Form submissions are stored in our WordPress database for 24 months from the date of the festival you applied for, then deleted. If you want yours deleted sooner, write to info@lexblueberryfest.com.
Photos, Video, & Media at the Festival
By attending the festival you may be photographed for promotional use. You can opt out by telling a photographer.
Photos, Video, & Media at the Festival
By attending the festival you may be photographed for promotional use. You can opt out by telling a photographer.
The Lexington Blueberry Festival is a public event. Photographers and videographers (including festival staff, volunteers, journalists, and contracted media) may capture images and footage of attendees throughout the event grounds.
By attending the festival, you consent to your image being used in:
- Festival promotional materials (flyers, posters, social media, website)
- News coverage of the event
- The festival's photo galleries and memories pages
To opt out: if you do not want to be photographed, please tell a festival photographer when you see one. You can also email us at info@lexblueberryfest.com and we will do our best to remove your image from materials we control. (Once an image is published by a third-party journalist, we cannot recall it.)
For children: the festival follows the same policy in public spaces. Parents or guardians who do not want their children photographed should let our photographers know, and avoid posed photo opportunities.
Children's Privacy
We follow COPPA. Pageant and youth registrations require parent or guardian consent and signature.
Children's Privacy
We follow COPPA. Pageant and youth registrations require parent or guardian consent and signature.
The festival follows the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parent or guardian consent.
The Miss Blueberry Pageant and any other youth-oriented registrations require a parent or guardian to sign the application. The parent or guardian provides the contact information, and we communicate through them.
If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child without proper consent, please contact us at info@lexblueberryfest.com and we will delete it.
Your Rights
You can ask what we have, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Just write to us.
Your Rights
You can ask what we have, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Just write to us.
You have the right to:
- Access the personal information we have about you.
- Correct any information that is wrong or out of date.
- Delete your information from our systems (subject to legal retention requirements for things like donation receipts).
- Opt out of any future communications.
- Object to specific uses of your data.
To exercise any of these rights, write to info@lexblueberryfest.com with the request and enough information for us to identify your record. We will respond within 30 days.
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights. Asking us to delete your data does not affect your ability to attend or participate in the festival.
How Long We Keep Your Information
Form submissions are kept for 24 months. Donation and tax records longer, as required by law.
How Long We Keep Your Information
Form submissions are kept for 24 months. Donation and tax records longer, as required by law.
We keep personal information only as long as we need to:
- Form submissions (inquiries, applications, registrations, volunteer signups): 24 months from the festival date for the year you applied for. After that, the submission is deleted from our system.
- Donation and payment records: retained for the period required by applicable tax and accounting law (typically 7 years for tax records), then deleted.
- Contact form messages: 24 months from the date of submission.
- Server logs: rotated and deleted automatically by our host on their schedule, typically within 30 to 90 days.
- Photographs and video: retained indefinitely in our festival archives. You may request that we remove an image of you at any time.
If you want your data deleted sooner than these schedules, write to info@lexblueberryfest.com.
Security
We use standard security practices and trust our hosting provider to protect the database. We are honest that no system is perfect.
Security
We use standard security practices and trust our hosting provider to protect the database. We are honest that no system is perfect.
We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold:
- HTTPS encryption on every page of this website. Your form submissions travel encrypted.
- Admin access controls: only festival staff with a need to know have admin accounts. We use strong passwords and two-factor authentication where supported.
- Hosted database security: DreamHost manages database backups, server patching, and the underlying infrastructure security.
- Payment isolation: we never see or store your credit card numbers. All payments go through PayPal.
Honest disclaimer: no online system is 100% secure. We make our best efforts, but if a breach occurs that affects your data, we will notify you as required by applicable law.
Changes to This Policy
When we update this policy we update the date at the top. We don't notify you of every minor edit.
Changes to This Policy
When we update this policy we update the date at the top. We don't notify you of every minor edit.
We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, new technologies, or legal requirements. When we do:
- The “Last Updated” date at the top of this page will change.
- For major changes (new categories of data collection, new third-party sharing) we will post a notice on the festival's home page for at least 30 days.
- For minor edits (clarifications, typos, updated contact info) we update the page without separate notice.
If you continue using the website after we post a change, your continued use indicates acceptance of the revised policy.
Contact Us About Privacy
Reach out by email or mail. We will respond within 30 days.
Contact Us About Privacy
Reach out by email or mail. We will respond within 30 days.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your rights under it, or just want to talk to a real person about how we handle data — reach out:
Email: info@lexblueberryfest.com
Mail:
Lexington Blueberry Festival of Ohio
P.O. Box 3311
Lexington, OH 44904-0311
We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 30 days.
Talk to a real person about your data.
If you want to exercise your rights, ask a question, or just understand how something works — reach out. We will respond within 30 days, usually much faster.
