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July 22, 2008
A Glowing Disaster or Success? Opinions on the SaMo Fest are Strong
The official count for Glow in Santa Monica this weekend is now at 200,000 people with 75,000 there at the same time, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. For the most part, comments left on an LAist post (and other sites) about the event were very strong and negative. However, from there, the biannual event can only come back in 2010 as a slamming success, drawing the same large crowd and pleasing even more people. And not everyone had a bad time. LAist Special Projects Editor Elise Thompson shared the magic she experienced and some wicked photos yesterday (and so did our LAist Featured Photos contributors on Flickr, whose photos are below)
According to one Santa Monica employee, who wished to remain anonymous, there were a lot of problems internally, logistically, politically, etc. However, the employee noted here lies a huge opportunity for the city. "The beach isn't an integrated part of the nighttime experience in Santa Monica... I saw people really enjoying being on the beach late at night. Granted, the beach became more attractive because of the problems with the event and people were having fun because none of the beach rules were being enforced, but I thought it was a rare treat to hang out on the beach at night with a whole bunch of people, run into friends and be part of a big party." If Santa Monica's beach was open at night, would that benefit the city?
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The beach aspect is what I loved the most. The city should consider opening it up late night more often. I had a blast people watching, chatting with strange strangers, listening to music and just chilling.
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more lights; more DJs
just throw a couple DJ stages on the beach and everyone will be happy.
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the beach is open every thursday night - people drinking and smoking heavily on the south side of the pier.
http://www.twilightdance.org/
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Thanks for that tip, Nick. Looks like an awesome series.
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going to that event was the single worst decision i have made in recent years. sporadic art, no music. if this is the cost of free, count me out.
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if we had some fucking public transportation then yes it would be great.
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as all of my friends have said
not enough art ...
and where the hell is the music at ?!
Turbo Failure...
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I love the koi fish and the glo-stick trick photos so much!
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It is offical -- a bunch of retards run GLOW. The potential for this is HUGE, but they screw up. DJ/Music on the pier? Are you nuts, there is no room for that. I was thinking that they would have a stage on the beach so that we can enjot a concert. Plus the art? Are you nut. An oversized water sprinkler with lights? Ok, so some it will be art, but it was hardly any displays. What a joke and I think that there was too much internal drama for this lousy event to really take off. Overall, the idea is great. Business around SM was booming! Event the shit bars had lines outside their door. Find new people to run this event. Maybe people to actually HAVE EXPERIENCE in running outdoor festivals. Not a bunch of "wannabes high culture" twits.
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Regarding experience that you mention, floor, I do agree somewhat. From someone who has been on the planning team for some massively large events (Nike Run Hit Remix, Santa Clarita Marathon, street festivals, etc), I was surprised there were no dedicated emergency lanes (even a one-way) on the bridge to the pier for ambulances and into the streets. It would have made traffic get worse, but with that kind of stuff, you can't screw around.