Carytown New Year’s not happening
Citing the high cost of security and other expenses, the Carytown Merchants Association will not be holding a New Year’s celebration this December 31st. Despite the request for $2 donations from visitors to last year’s celebration, the merchants association still lost over $20,000 The T-D quotes Thom Suddeth, president of Carytown Merchants Association: “It’s a […]
Citing the high cost of security and other expenses, the Carytown Merchants Association will not be holding a New Year’s celebration this December 31st. Despite the request for $2 donations from visitors to last year’s celebration, the merchants association still lost over $20,000
The T-D quotes Thom Suddeth, president of Carytown Merchants Association:
“It’s a done deal…We just can’t financially handle that burden.”
Now what are we gonna do?
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Valerie Catrow
Valerie Catrow is editor of RVAFamily, mother to a mop-topped first grader, and always really excited to go to bed.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
you just need to charge more. you can’t get into a local concert for less than $10 these days, and even that’s not happening that often.
i think most people would be willing to pay a $20 entry fee. it’s new years eve, after all.
I’ve got to disagree with Doug. I wouldn’t pay $2 or $20 to stand outside in the cold in my own neighborhood. I can do that for free. The problem with starting out with a free event is that people are unlikely to want to pay for it later on.
Too bad for Carytown. It was nice to be able to have a “let’s all meet up here” thing.
It would be great if the city (Venture Richmond?) would help out, because this event was a lot of fun…I think Broad Street Downtown would make for a better venue than Carytown did.
I just think when any governing body steps in and tries to take too much control over a new event as the City of Richmond did last year with Carytown NYE, you just suck the soul right out of it all the while making it more expensive to run. Richmond government obviously hasn’t found a way to allow for grassroots events like Carytown NYE and First Friday to take hold without forcing a prohibitive amount of regulations and associated costs on them. I hope they do so and quickly otherwise they are effectively killing a major source of creativity and potential income for the City.
that event should without a doubt be free.
giving people some thing to do on NYE for free makes the city more awesome and makes people appreciate the city.
i agree it should be on broad and not in carytown.
Richmonders and the Carytown community in particular are very fortunate that an event of this caliber has grown into such a surprising success. We should be proud to see a Richmond street crowded shoulder to shoulder with thousands of revelers that are gathered to peacefully ring in the New Year with cheers and the company of their neighbors. To lose this opportunity of bringing all Richmonders together would be a real shame and a detriment to Carytown Merchants and our greater city.
There are logistical challenges, dollar costs and political terms that have hampered this event since its inception yet despite these trials the organizers triumphed with an impressive city celebration. This year the onus of the terms is too much burden for the Carytown Merchants Association and that’s understandable given that many of these small businesses are facing their own struggles to survive. The terms must change, the ownership and responsibility for this event needs to be shared and our city’s leadership needs to step up with a way to continue the success story of the Carytown New Year’s Eve celebration.
At Boulevardizen.com we’ve launched a petition to the city’s leadership please join us in our call for the New Year’s Eve celebration to be re-examined:
http://www.boulevardizen.com/IloveNYE
Can’t the Byrd just agree to drop (or raise) a ball at midnight and if there happens to be thousands of people around, then, good? Or, Broad St, or Shockoe, I don’t care.
Shockoe may be best because the businesses would be more willing to chip in because they are going to get money out of it because there are so many more concentrated bars/restaurants. Most of the stores in Carytown aren’t getting anything out of a mass of people coming to drink at midnight.
$20 is crazy to stand outside and not include any booze.
Seriously – the city can’t spend 20k on a NYE celebration but we’ve got an awesome new AA, yes, not AAA like we had, but AA team called the Flying Squirrels? C’mon, don’t you people see we are the heart of the marketing mecca and that’s why we have AA teams flocking to us… and if you didn’t step in the sarcasm on the way in, watch out, it’s a devil to get out of your shoes, and no, Nordstrom won’t take them back.
It is pretty disappointing that Carytown can’t host this years NYE festivities. Although I think @Robinson Street might have a point by suggesting something similar (and most likely even better) to be hosted on Broad. I’d like to see that happen.
Broad street would be better, more diverse crowd, wider streets, closer for me. If ya want something nice you have to pay, whats $5, come on dont cheap yourself out of a good time.
I agree with Doug and Liberty … “$5, come on dont cheap yourself out of a good time.”
As for Broad Street, I never go there unless I have to. Carytown seems more small-townish than a polluted city. And the cost on Broad Street would probably double the cost of the event, because the logistics are much more difficult to route traffic there. The city has no obligation or business really in these tough times or any times to fund a party. People and businesses who participate should fund the entire event.
Broad looks and feels fantastic when it’s humming. Plus those who quip about our historically black neighborhoods being promoted and spent on at all in Richmond would be duly satisfied. BUT if it’s true that security was the major spending item that downed it, I’m guessing having NYE on Broad would not be much of a financial savior.
SOLUTION – party at Chimborazo. The ghosts of confederate soldiers past will be all the security we need, and Ross will dress up as Lee and the south will win for once.
I don’t know about the anonymous respondents, but I like that most of the people bummed on this are male.
I know all you ladies are going to miss being objectified and groped on an overcrowded street this year.
As much as I like boozing up large crowds in small spaces and seeing if they kill/rape/beat each other, I’m glad to have a less chaotic NYE on Grayland this year.