Butler’s first Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, which will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Jeep, will provide an excellent opportunity for the city and its environs to showcase themselves in a positive way to first-time visitors here.

Therefore, in honor of the event, scheduled for Aug. 12 through 14, the city and other county municipalities — and their residents — should put on their best face and commit themselves to being as hospitable to all.

Area residents should be respectful toward people seeking directions and to those whose driving might seem tentative because they’re unfamiliar with the area.

Businesses and residents should be cordial in providing directions and offer an enthusiastic “Wecome to Butler” to people visiting for the festival.

Good impressions garnered from this year’s event will provide an incentive for them to come back for such events.

For now, the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau has committed itself for festivals through the 75th anniversary of the Bantam Jeep. But with successful replays of this year’s event, each building upon successes of previous years, the festival has the potential to be popular for years beyond 2016.

However, making this first festival a success — both in terms of area residents and visitors — is crucial in terms of future events.

In these days prior to the festival’s start, signs of the coming three-day event are abundant by way of the 70 wooden, decorated Jeep sculptures.

If the enthusiasm and talent demonstrated by that artwork is present in other aspects of the festival, there is little doubt the festival will be a success.

Meanwhile, the festival will provide additional exposure for local assets such as the Big Butler Fairgrounds and Moraine State Park and stoke interest in visitors to visit and/or attend events at those venues in the future.

The Bantam Jeep festival will attract thousands of people who regularly show up at events in and around the city. However, the Jeep event will attract many people who might not be interested in some of the those other events. So, there’s the potential for a big new crowd to complement the regulars.

In the coming days, business operators downtown and elsewhere should step outside and look at their storefronts. If windows need washing or if a little bit of touch-up painting would improve their appearance, there still is time for that work to be done.

Likewise, business operators should examine the sidewalk and curb areas that front them and do any needed cleanup.

The key is to work together to do a lot — to make people want to come back to Butler.

From Aug. 12 through 14, Butler will be on center stage, both from a tourism standpoint as well as a new option for local people to enjoy.

This festival has the potential to be a tourism bonanza.

With the arrival of Aug. 15, the mood should be upbeat, geared toward August 2012 — with few, if any, regrets regarding what might have been done differently this year.