PB Block Party - The Second Biggest Event during the Third Week in April
I've been trying to figure out what has been going on with the PB Block party for a while, and yesterday the U-T's music blog "Liner Notes" posted an tidy little summation. The Block Party has been reborn as the Street Fair, and is scheduled to take place on Saturday April 22nd. They are scaling down the number of entertainment acts in an effort to reduce the debauchery the event is known for, but groups still oppose the event. There is a petition available on line to email councilmen and other people, and I guess if you support the block party/street fair, whatever, you should sign it.
I personally hate a lot of the stuff that gives PB its negative rep, but don't mind the Block Party at all, especially since this year I have a parking space. I am hoping that changes such as a name change that the organizing body is putting forth are purely cosmetic, and that the event will still be as fun as previous years. It seems like a large part of the events success is due to the collective spirit of individuals having parties all around the neighborhood, not because of the actual entertainment or vendors. I usually spend about an hour on Garnet, navigating the crowds and expensive food trying to find the act I want to see before heading off to a variety of hospitable parties where the booze is free. Here's hoping that the trend of there being at least one act I'd like to see continuing, 2004 had Robert Bradley's Backwater Surprise, 2005 had Robert Walter's 20th Congress. If the naming convention continues, maybe Robert Randolph and the Family Band this year?
Comments
God I hope they never fully shut down the block party. I've lived in PB for 3 years and it's such a fantastic display of community debauchery. PB is a college beach party community and that's fine. There are already plenty of events for families in PB (which has a relatively small family demographic anyway), from the Christmas Parade to the Celebrate PB day or whatever it's called that's family friendly. If you have a problem with young people having fun, why the hell did you move to PB? In this oppressed day in age, the fact that a community like ours can still exist is a comforting thing. I still wouldn't hope for great music at the block party, but you can at least count on some solid games of flip-cup.
Posted by: J | March 9, 2006 03:12 PM