I don't know how many of you have been following the on going saga of Art Walk being called off only to have the board turn around and reinstate the event, but it has been a bit of local drama that I can't seem to turn away from. It all started last Friday when the "organizers" of Art Walk made the announcement on their website that the event was called off until next year when it would be reinstated as a quarterly daytime event and focused more on the art. The reason for the change was said to be due to the event growing too large and is now too costly to maintain. By Monday this statement had been corrected by the board and they had dismissed the Director that released that statement. The latest message from the board is that Art Walk will go on as planned with no changes or plans to change in the immediate future. So, October 14th Art Walk will be going on as planned.
I think this is a mistake, I really would like to see some changes made. I love that Art Walk brings so many people Downtown, which is great for our businesses. But it is way too crowded, they need to shut down a few strategic streets to allow patrons to walk around freely. Trying to walk on the sidewalks with all the people, dogs, booths and in some cases bands, is just too much. I think the event would flow much better and it would not be so dangerous to walk around. I can't tell you how many people I have seen fall into the street with on coming cars and how many dogs I've heard yelp from being stepped on. I think if they widened the space, these issues would go away. Also, on a selfish note, I wouldn't have to fight so many people just to walk in the front door of my building.
The other improvement I would like to see is to increase the amount of times Art Walk happens. Instead of just once a month, why don't they try to do twice a month. If it is increasing the amount of patrons going into our local businesses, I would think this is something they would want to do. I will admit, I do not know the total cost of putting on this event, so maybe it is too costly to do. But if there were a way to increase it, I don't see how it would be a bad thing.
These are just my opinions. I know the board of Art Walk will do what they need to do to keep the event in tact and successful. I would just like to see the patrons appreciate our beautiful Downtown a little more while they are visiting.
