Jacksonville Light Parade tonight on the downtown riverfront!

[BridgeTroll]

Wow...

[tufsu1]

Jerry....maybe you should think abaout marketing to a different crowd during special events.

Of course the Main St and Acosta Brodges were closed....during the boat parade, the main St. Bridge was raised....and then both were closed for fireworks following.

If your customers really wanted to come, all they had to do was take I-95 around to the Forsyth St. exit and come in that way...I doubt the extra 3 minute drive time would have been a deterrent.

[BridgeTroll]

I agree... judging by the numbers of Yachts and large cabin cruisers parked for the event there were hundreds of "high paying" potential customers downtown for the event.

[ac]

I went down with my wife, 16 m/o, and in-laws in tow for the tree lighting. 

Parking was super-simple if one was willing to pay for it.  Don't know about the supposed "high-paying" folks, but  my convenience and peace-of-mind is well worth 5 bucks.  The one-block walk was fine. 

We didn't feel "unsafe" at all 'til we reached The Landing. Crowd control and ingress/egress were definitely an issue for The Landing.  There were maybe two/three tense moments in the bustle, but just typical in-crowd claustrophobic/agoraphobic freakouts.  We ended up leaving by 7:30, however, due to people pushing/shoving by and through us to get in and out (keep in mind we were virtually backed into a corner, trying to stay out of the way of most foot traffic) and our apparent inability to work our way around to a more open spot.

In hindsight, we should have walked around to one of the open-air sides or to the riverwalk for courtyard access, instead of going through the building.  Still, there needed to be someone at the doors to the courtyard controlling and directing traffic flow.  I got the feeling they were unprepared for the number of folks who were coming.  After 20-some-odd years of putting this on, that should not happen.

Sadly, I don't think I'll go back.  It's not because I don't want to, but because I won't be able to convince my wife to go again.  Maybe if the city sells the land underneath, allowing The Landing to go forward with the plans to open the courtyard to the street, I can swing it.  So, yeah; never again.

I was hoping to make this a family tradition.

[Ocklawaha]

I can see it now ... Ocklawaha piloting an old trolley car with pontoons ...

Find that old trolley Charles, your a daisy if you do! I'm ready with the barge when you are.

OCKLAWAHA

[Ocklawaha]

Be careful, VERY CAREFUL, what you ask for boys and girls... NONE OF YOU have ever seen "urban violence," believe me, I survived it!  Jacksonville's downtown at it's worst, NEVER approaches the level that this did. Today both are tranquil, Medellin is actually safer then Jax according to the FBI, but be thankful for what we have. Lead on "Make a Scene...Jacksonville."

PEACE!

OCKLAWAHA

[BridgeTroll]

I was hoping to make this a family tradition. 

I personally think the boat parade and fireworks are a much better event.  The crowds are spread over large areas on both banks of the river... I think this fireworks display rivals July 4, and New years.

[north miami]

With increasing frequency the local boating community steers clear of the Landing.

'North' Riverside,103rd.street,Cassatt Ave,Arlington..........my,the list of "Do not enter" is increasing.

The backdrop to this: Surrounding county's subtle yet militant anti Duval theme.

[tufsu1]

Guess that explains why there were over 80 boats in the parade this year, right?

[BridgeTroll]

There also had to be about 40 boats tied up along the riverwalk from CSX to the Hyatt... sometimes 4 deep.

[fsujax]

Went to the boat parade Saturday night, I didnt see any bad elements. As far as crowds at the Landing, that's why we go to the front of the Hyatt, a much more enjoyous occasion. Ate pizza at Northstar, not too bad, eventhough we were the only ones in there. Fireworks were great as always! Now if only the city would put up some freaking Christmas decorations downtown. It looks so dark and uninviting for Christmas time. What happend to all the decorations the city used to put on the light poles?

[JaxLanding]

Whew!  Where do I begin?

Let me start with a few things Jerry said.  Special events are absolutely necessary to the future of downtown Jacksonville and the City of Jacksonville.  They allow us to actually enjoy the city in which we live.  They add culture to our community and simply put, give us something fun to do.  We can't all just work a 40+ hour work week, go home, go to bed, get up and do it all over again.  What fun would that be and why would that make us have ownership in our city?  I think it's especially nice that almost 98% of these events are free!!
Obviously, all special events are beneficial to every business downtown.  But it is the hope that having these special events downtown keep this area in the minds of the consumer.  They may not frequent your business that specific evening, but the chance they will think of your business the next time they are looking for a place to eat or to purchase a product you sell is definitely higher than if there wasn't a special event drawing traffic to your area.  And finally, as much as you may or may not agree, downtown Jacksonville is absolutely statistically proved to be the safest Zone in this city.  We may have nuisance activity (and that is not something any of us enjoy), but this is a downtown atmosphere.  The more special events that take place downtown, the less nuisance activity there will be.  "They" don't like crowds, trust me.

Tree Lighting:  After 23 years, it has grown to be very popular.  This is why we partner with a TV station to also air the program live on television.  Because of the size of the crowd, we took some steps this year to try and add additional viewing space.  1.  We did not allow the crowd to bring chairs into the Courtyard.  Obviously this angered many people, so let me explain why we had to do this.  Last year, people came as early as noon and set their chair in the Courtyard.  They left and then came back hours later.  Then they insisted that no other chair could be any closer to their chair unless it was two feet away.  Even after repeated announcements/requests into the microphone asking the people to be considerate of others and scoot their chairs closer together so everyone would have the same viewing opportunity, they rudely refused.  So many people were unable to see the Tree Lighting and it was sad to look down from the 2nd floor to see all the wasted space in between the chairs.  So after much thought, we decided to not allow chairs.  We thought that having standing-room only would allow more people the opportunity to view the event (it's only an hour-long event anyway).  We were wrong.  Instead people brought blankets and spread them out all over the Courtyard taking up even more room than a chair.  I was seriously heart broken.  I don't understand why people can't just be nice to each other and considerate of others; especially at a free, non-ticketed event.  AND we set up a handicap area to accommodate those with disabilities.
Realizing that many may come to this event and not have a clear line of site, we also tuned the TVs in the Food Court to the live TV show and aired the show on the Courtyard Jumbotron.
Again, this is a free , non-ticketed event.  We put a lot of time, money, planning and effort into making this a successful night.  I just wish that more people could be considerate of others and act as good neighbors.
One last thing about Tree Lighting, I am not aware of any fight on the property.  If there was such an incident, I would like to learn more.  My email is rnudge@sleiman.com.


I hope I clarified some issues.

[fsujax]

JaxLanding. Great post. I just want to say the Landing is the only festive looking place Downtown, especially at Christmas. I am grateful Tony decorates and makes it look inviting, especially at Christmas! Keep up the good work. By the way I never feel unsafe at the Landing, even on FL/GA Weekend.

[Ethylene]

Jerry merely questioned, "And, why is the COJ involved in entertainment, period?"

This event is not free it is yet another tab picked up by the taxpayer! Many such events do include advance notification of bridge and street closings but the City dropped the ball this time, again!

[tufsu1]

COJ is involved in entertainment/festivals because that's what cities do....its called Quality of Life!