Do we need all of these events in Coconut Grove?
A few of us were talking in the gym last week and I was surprised to learn that many people don't really care about all the events we have in Coconut Grove. The subject came up because we were talking about funding cuts that will affect many of our yearly events. But while people like the Great Grove Bed Race and all the 4th of July activities and the King Mango Strut and Taste of the Grove, they seem to prefer a quieter village. In other words, they would prefer to leave Coconut Grove to attend events and then return to a quite home after partying it up elsewhere.
I find it interesting because it does make a lot of sense. While I am on many of the event committees around town, it is a lot of work for something that perhaps people don't really care about. I mean they'll attend, but don't seem to feel that they would miss them if they would go away. We always say that the Grove is event driven. But why?
Most events, all in fact, I think, are created to bring business to the area but not many businesses support the events. I know, I've walked door to door trying to have them participate. Most don't.
So what's your vote? How do you feel? Are you a resident or business owner? Do you like the events like the King Mango Strut and Bed Race and Taste of the Grove and Arts Festival or could you do without them? Do you prefer partying it up in South Beach or Brickell and then coming home to a quiet neighborhood or do you like more life on the streets?
I find it interesting because it does make a lot of sense. While I am on many of the event committees around town, it is a lot of work for something that perhaps people don't really care about. I mean they'll attend, but don't seem to feel that they would miss them if they would go away. We always say that the Grove is event driven. But why?
Most events, all in fact, I think, are created to bring business to the area but not many businesses support the events. I know, I've walked door to door trying to have them participate. Most don't.
So what's your vote? How do you feel? Are you a resident or business owner? Do you like the events like the King Mango Strut and Bed Race and Taste of the Grove and Arts Festival or could you do without them? Do you prefer partying it up in South Beach or Brickell and then coming home to a quiet neighborhood or do you like more life on the streets?
posted by Tom Falco at 7:40 AM
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28 Comments:
I'm a resident and LOVE the arts fest & bed race & 4th of July festivities. The Taste of the Grove is horrible and should go. It is waaaay too expensive and no free samples!
As a fifty year resident of the Grove I feel that most of the current events feel forced.
The Bed Race, Art Festval (I still remember the first one where there was an entry fee) and the King Mango Strut were all events that came about because of the Grove's essential differentness and people. They were odd, different and fun because that's what the Grove was.
Now it just feels the unique Grove oddity and sense of weirdness is forced. A kind of "Hey, look how odd and quirky we are! Come spend money!"
That having been said....
What ever happened to the Great Coconut Grove Bike Race? That brought folks from around the world.
And many, many mango seasons ago there used to be free concerts (PACE) in the park every weekend. The concert was free but all the Grove stores profited from the crowds.
I think all of these events are what in a way contribute to the Grove's Identity. There is a big difference between the events that take place in the Grove and South Beach. The Grove events always carry a relaxed atmosphere and are much more family oriented.
This doesn't mean that it should turn into a ghost town after a certain time, we can still have bars and what not, but not the whole nightclub scene.
I think the people that want a more quieter village can find that elsewhere and the Grove is just not the place for them..
Cheers
I live in the grove and welcome these events. I'd like to see more 5Ks and sports related activities. How about a kayak race? I mean our water is gross (it is, from all the fuel/waste etc) but we should still embrace our coastline. There should be something at least every 2 months. Maybe more tasting events (like requiring vendors to have at least samples so people can try the food?)
Anyway, the bike race that anonymous 9:57 posted sounds awesome.
Has anyone (maybe the BID) done an impact study to see the spike in sales/traffic from the events? I like the idea of concerts. I wish we had an amphitheater to host them in say peacock park (though the wealthy neighbors might complain).
Re: "I think the people that want a more quieter village can find that elsewhere..."
Yeah! We can just go to Scotty's or Jimbo's. ...
Oh, wait....
I hate to say this, but as a younger Grove resident, I think there are a good number of people that just like to complain, no matter what the issue. "There's too much going on", which will be replaced with the complaint of "there's not enough going on" once these events are ended due to lack of interest.
The more events the better. That's the only way businesses will survive.
Like all neighborhoods the grove has evolved so let's stop comparing it to what is was 20 30 or 50 years ago.
and those who want it quiet coral gables is right around the corner.
Hey, those who want to party all the time and have drunks drive down your street at 50 miles an hour at 2am or walking down your street yelling at 2am, Miami Beach is right around the corner.
I'll just sell the house I've lived in for the last 50 years so some UM kids or tourists can get wasted and not be harassed by some old dude who's lived on this street all his life.
Of course events are good, all types of gatherings and assembly are good. The problem is how things have been artificially done in the neighborhood by a few and with the aid of all the chains in the guise of city codes, parking authority, and a formerly fake BID. The solution is to welcome anyone or groups who want to set up events, if people who are genuinely interested to setup events have a simple one page request and a short approval time to get approval instead of facing archaic obstacles, then no one has to feel obligated to sit on an event committee to protect the few.
I love most of the Grove events but if your business requires these events to survive then you've chosen the wrong area for your business or the wrong business for the area.
Starting a business and then trying to change the established local community to suit your business seems a little bass-backwards to me.
I'm a Grove resident for almost twenty years, and I love all the events. The more the better! It brings people into the Grove and brings much needed business. Plus they're fun!!!
You know what's ironic, all the people that complain about the noise and the partying, are the ones that used to be partying back in the 60's and 70's playing music and smoking weed in the Grove. But now that they got old, they don't want to let the younger ones enjoy the Grove like they did many years ago! They got old and grumpy!
As a business owner, we stopped participating in the local events due to the exuberant costs and work involved. We would bust our butts for a day or two only to be charged an arm and a leg by the event co-coordinators, leaving no money to be made.
That and the usual lack of organization when it came to the vendors got a bit old.
Couldn't agree more with Patty. Well said!
Naysayers say nay... more news at 11.
I'm so tired of just what Patty complained of. Crotchety, old people who had their fun and now want quiet, or worse yet, the Sarnoffs of the world who tried to sell the grove as some post-yuppie suburbanite shopping mall, only to see that vision fail completely.
you know there ARE concerts in the Grove...every 2nd Friday from September - May..at your local state park: The Barnacle. www.TheBarnacle.org
Patty is absolutely right. To the 50 year Grove resident, I've lived here for 20+ years and have seen a drastic decline in the foot traffic in the Grove. This is the day time too. 10 years ago there was so much more "action" in the Grove. Where were your complaints then. Sarnoff moved here when this area was a Miami hotspot. If he wanted quiet then why did he move here. In fact I'd like to ask all you people who complain about the noise and traffic here, why did you move here at all? There was a lot more back in those days yet you chose here. Now you want all of us to change because you have. There a old saying " out with the OLD and in with the NEW. You are the OLD!
We need events to keep the Grove vital. Retirees, move further North in Florida for your snowbird months. Otherwise, we will just see more boarded-up businesses and property values continue to decline. Events and nightlife make people want to live here.
So I guess Logan's Run is the epitome of society to you!
Amazing! I make a suggestion and a negative comment and suddenly I get personal attacks for being old and intolerant.
First off, I didn't move here I was born here. I'm a third generation Grovite.
And secondly, those suggesting "just move" are really showing their selfishness, immaturity and ignorance of how the real world works so I'm not even going to address that.
I really don't want to turn this into trading insults but you really show your ignorance and teen angst with the whole "Out with the OLD and in with the NEW. You are the OLD" comment. You deride what you mistakenly think is my yearning for the old days and then proceed to say how good the Grove was 10 years ago compared to now. 0.o!! Can you even see your cognitive dissonance?
Oh, and we have this thing called "voting' (look into it, it's pretty cool) and I didn't vote for Sarnoff.
At least I'm trying to come up with ideas like reinstating the old Grove Bike Race while you and others here are just petulantly stamping your feet attributing the Groves issues to "Old People Suck And Won't Let Us Have Any Fun".
Now go get some cash from your mom so you can go out tonight and let the adults finish talking, m'kay?
We're trying to make things better for you when you grow up.
Signed
Old Fart
(insert Statler and Waldorf jpg)
Yeah. Boarded up businesses and failed shops are because there's not enough to do in the Grove.
It has nothing to do with overpriced business ventures or that whole world economic collapse or that whole Florida real-estate collapse with people losing their jobs, businesses and houses.
It's because there's not enough events or places to party.
*facepalm*
Free?
Old Fart is clearly a liar. There is no such thing as an old, third generation grovite. To be old, he'd have to be at least 60, right? add a minimum of 20 years for each prior generation, and he's claiming his family has lived here for more than 100 years. Since Coconut Grove wasn't established until 1919, and had only handful of residents then, I highly doubt the claim, particularly when signed anonymously, and so full of defensive, angry, and generally un-grove attitude.
Moreover, and back to the point, the grove can't return to what it was in the past, it can only find a future, and sadly, that future (and apparently the recent past decade or two) does not suit you.
The grove is quieter now than it has been, probably since the 40s. The grove is dying people, and it needs new blood. There are willing and able donors on one side, and vampires looking to suck it dry on the other. Which are you? Does it have to end with you? Should the grove live on to be for others what it has been for you? These are the questions, people.
Hey old fart, for someone who didn't want to trade insults you sure can hold your own. Btw, I am in my upper 40s and make a good living so no need to borrow $. The point is the old days were better and slowly it is dying. Rather then help speed it down his path, we need to help slow down/stop the decline. It may never be what it was but it still can be a place to be. Out with the old refers to your way of thinking. The bike race is a good idea. That's the point, events are a good idea.
Personal attacks again?
While I would love to go into my personal family history with you and explain it all so you're satisfied as to my pedigree it's not gonna happen on a bbs. Thanks for trying. ;)
Where exactly in my posts am I angry and could we define "un-grovelike? Is there a t-shirt I should wear? Do I need an ID card? Is there a secret handshake? Please, I need to know these things!!
And where exactly did I say we need to return to the past?
Who are you arguing with?
So far I think I'm the only one who offered up an actual idea. So far all you've done is point accusing fingers and bitched. Kinda sums up the current Grove residents issues in a nutshell. One side try's to come up with ideas while another side bitches and points fingers.
The thing is when you leave the area in a few years to follow that job or that girl or whatever takes your fancy I will still be here. Just like my parents and my grandmother and while I have no children I think it would be nice for the next couple of generations to have something left besides an open-air mall.
-OF
Seriously, where did I come across as angry?
For that matter, what do you mean willing and able donors? Do these donors have names? Does their name end in LLC?
And are you able to communicate without personal attacks?
Inquireing minds want to know.
Aha! Lucid exchange of ideas! Now we're cooking with gas!
Exactly! I never said we have to live in the past. I never even said events were bad. The problem that I see is so many of the events now feel ... the only term that feels right is plastic. Forced.
The bike race is an old idea, I'm just reminding folks.
How about free concerts in the park on weekends again. It doesn't have to be headline groups. Local group who are willing to play for exposure instead of cash. The school on Commodore could have a weekly band. And when people get hot and thirsty they go up in the Grove for drinks.
Admittedly the ideas need all sorts of work but that's what ideas are. Starting points. And no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy and must be revised constantly.
And I apologize for the mom and money comment but with the whole OLD vs NEW comment you really sounded (to me) like you just got thru arguing with your dad about painting your room black.
No worries, eh?
(holds up handle of Capt Morgan) Slainté!
As someone who owns property in the grove,i have to admit i am very concerned about the well being of the village. And in case you all havent noticed, our little village is dying. And no, im not talking about scottys leaving, that is sad but we have much bigger problems. No one wants to hang out in the grive anymore. We need events because otherwise there is nothing to do here. In the 80s this place was so lively. People would come to the grove to shop dine and party. Now all of our businesses are failing. The commercial area is practically a ghost town. No one wants to shop or eat here if they do not live here. We get no outside business because we can not compete with areas like miracle mile and dadeland mall. Our parking is a huge expensive hassle, there are very few anchor stores which are capable of attracting consumers and worst of all we are the only neighborhood in miami that can not sell alcohol past 2 am. (in case you are wondering, mr. moes is a very special case. They litigated forever, and the case was settled allowing them to stay open later onky because they were here before Sarnoff changed the law. No one else will be able to be open until 5 unless the laws change. Period.) I understand that people are concerned about too much partying, but it has crushed our local economy. Miami is a young city which is famous for partying. We cannot attract locals and certainly not tourists without being able to compete with every other neighborhood. Frankly, unless they live in the grove already, most young people avoid us like the plague. You have to understand that having places open late brings people in earlier too, for dinner and movies and shopping. By passing the 2 am law we shot ourselves in the foot. Our early bed time was the first thing to stop some people from coming, then people realized that they can shop at places with free parking in the gables and dadeland, then our stores began closing, then our restaurants, and now we are a shell of what we once were. We need the commercial area to do well, even if you don't want to hang out here you should want your property value to be maintained. Events wont fix the problem, but events are the last unique and fun thing we have that draw people to the area.
i was at the 4th of july in the grove and wow owners were so happy they were making money enough said
All of the events are good. Coconut Grove should be enjoyed by everybody.
Admittedly, I don't attend some of the events but I am accustomed to the crowds and the traffic.
The Grove is paradise. I invite everybody who has good intentions.
I agree, the events are not that big a problem. and yes parking is a pain in the ass. but in response to anonoymous 1 little thing..no anchor stores, no big boxes, maybe a few smaller mainstream (like the gap)but our downtown is a mixed area not a mall.
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