It appears that the drought we experienced this year in Georgia, continually has more and more interesting ways of affecting us; apparently, the city of Atlanta has said NO to having festivals in Piedmont Park this year. This means that there will be no Dogwood Festival, no Peachtree Road race, and no Pride festival, in Piedmont Park in 2008. Also, unless they can find somewhere else to hold these events, they won’t be happening this year at all.
While I understand that the city is concerned about how the park looks, and the aesthetic of having grass and vegetation, I have to wonder, is it worth losing the revenue that each of those festivals bring to the area? I mean, Pride and the Dogwood Festival alone have to be huge money makers for the city, because they literally attract hundreds of thousands of people each. Additionally, the businesses around the park benefit from those festivals; I know that Grady High school gets a major boost of funds by being able to charge for parking, which goes directly to student programs.
Additionally, I wonder about the potential impact of losing the “biggest Pride festival in the south”? How will this impact the gay population in Atlanta, and how will it impact the gay presence in midtown? If Pride is canceled this year, who’s to say they won’t cancel it in the future? It also makes you wonder, if they were looking for a viable excuse to get rid of the festival in the first place, and the drought made for the perfect scapegoat? It just seems a little extreme to cancel all of those festivals over the worry for preserving grass.
How do you feel about the cancellation of these events? I know that I personally am sad to know that something that is as huge as Pride may not happen this year; all because of “new” city ordinances on grass. I know that I, for one, am curious to see how the Atlanta Pride committee will try and make up for this blow to the fate of the festival; I just can’t imagine not having Pride in Atlanta.
Again, it just seems kind of extreme to cancel these festivals because of worry over the growth of grass. After all, what is the point of having a park in the middle of the city if you can’t use it? I for one hope that they can come to some sort of consensus between the city and the festival organizers, because it will be a really dull if Pride doesn’t happen this year. Pride is definitely something I look forward to, and definitely something that I would miss if it doesn’t happen; and even if it happens somewhere else, what will it be like? One thing is for sure, the fate of the festival rests with this decision, and I for one hope that something can be done to save each of these Atlanta institutions.