Today there were two DJs blasting their music during the Whole Foods market. One would have been more than enough. It was so loud and jarring that people were looking for someone to complain to, but it was not clear that there was anyone in charge. This prompted me to ask: who is organizes this, and what can be done to make these events more coherent and enjoyable?
The silver lining was that the second DJ showed up way later than the first, so it didn't entirely ruin our morning. My baby and I are early birds. :)
I do love the market, especially when there's bouncy houses like there were today, but there are definitely ways these events could be improved. For instance, marketing. Who advertises these events? Granted it was overcast today, but still! The one time the summer family events were advertised by flyer, the whole neighborhood showed up. The place was packed with kids. Gateway Pavilion felt like a community space, and that was really great. Today my baby had not one but TWO bouncy houses all to himself.
These types of events could also be advertised to greater audiences by sending it to sites like DCthriftymom and KidfriendlyDC. Instant crowds. I'll have to remind myself to forward these announcements next time though you'd think it behooves the organizer of the events to do this themselves.
This is a great question to ask. Less than a year into the opening of the St. Es East Pavilion DPMED bounced out the event management / marketing consultant. Catherine Buell would know who is running it now as she calls the shots. She is doing the best she can in a very difficult and challenging environment. It seems like the projects and events are more freestyled than truly planned. Activity masquerades as accomplishment. The city was very proud that the built the Pavilion but it doesn't appear there was ever a plan for how it would be used. On a previous post you mention how frequently it is empty and lifeless. It was a very costly public works project. How it turns out is yet to be determined. Please keep chronicling.
ReplyDeleteThank you for documenting the ins, outs and in inbetweens of Congress Heights. This is a great blog.