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Opinion Letters Letters and comments for August 28, 2008
Letters and comments for August 28, 2008
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Celements Great downtown festival To the Editor: Traffic is flowing through the Fourth and Adams intersection today and Max Square is quiet. This wasn’t the case this past Friday and Saturday when, at times, hundreds of people gathered for a bit of culture at the first Crossing the Blues festival. By all counts, the event was a success! Some numbers leave a lasting impression: upwards of 300-400 folks converged Friday evening for music, and another 120-150 people hung out for experimental films at midnight. On Saturday, the kids’ carnival saw at least 125 paying visitors and numerous others frolicking for free. The live theater at 6 p.m. drew 150-200 people outside City Hall, a backdrop fitting the play “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The jazz band at 8:15 or so packed the seats, bleachers and beer garden for another active night on Adams. More than 150 surveys were completed Friday and Saturday, and the responses were very favorable, an average score of 4 out of 5, with 5 the best option. The success of an event like Crossing the Blues cannot be laid at the feet of one person. Many people believed in the concept and gave hours of their time. The wheels started rolling when, in April, the city council voted 6-1 to support and contribute funding for a tourist-oriented signature event for La Grande. The La Grande Downtown Development Association, under the able leadership of Judy Hector, became the lead organization for the event and, with the expert help of Jon Larkin from EOU, they were off and running. And the efforts paid wonderfully! If you missed the event, you had better make plans to attend the second annual CTB Festival, scheduled for Aug. 21-22, 2009. Because based on what I saw, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Way to go, Crossing the Blues! Steve Celements, city councilor La Grande |
