Poll: readers planned to stay home for New Year’s Eve
Despite the annual First Night event in Grand Center, I stayed at home New Years Eve. If I were more mobile and it wasn’t so cold out I might have joined the party. The question about people’s plans for New Years Eve was the poll question last week:
Q: New Year’s Eve I will celebrate:
- at my home: 28 (33%)
- at the home of family/friends: 28 (33%)
- at a local business in my region: 9 (11%)
- at a local event in my region: 9 (11%)
- unsure/still deciding/not celebrating: 6 (7%)
- in a region other than my own: 5 (6%)
It was a soft question to end out 2009 and the response was lower than normal. Two-thirds were going to be at home – theirs or that of others. I imagine most of us at home watched the ball drop in Times Square. Such events are held in urban spaces. You’d never see a New Years Eve celebration in a Home Depot parking lot.  People just expect celebrations (parades, festivals, etc) to take place in urban settings.
As Grand Center gets more restaurant venues, hotels and residential housing this area and the First Night event should become more and more important. Maybe this coming NYE won’t be as cold?
– Steve Patterson
First Night is still an alcohol free event correct? Change that and you would have quite the turn out although it would definitely lose the family atmosphere.
Can't we have a public festival where both family and alcohol are appropriate?
One, allowing alcohol would be a mixed bag – look no further than Mardi Gras in Soulard – good times meet drunk and stupid.
Two, Grand Center is not nearly as attractive as other venues (I know, this is meant to “grow” its public awareness and use, but we're far from the necessary critical mass). Moving it to Union Station, Laclede's Landing or, eventually, Ballpark Village would probably work better, on many levels.
Three, more and bigger fireworks!!! We all know what NYC does. In recent years, both Las Vegas and Denver have gone “big” and are atracting much larger crowds, as well.
And four, any venue needs to be “right sized”, so that the crowd will actually feel like a a crowd. There's nothing worse than a party that's (apparently) sparsely attended.
One, allowing alcohol would be a mixed bag – look no further than Mardi Gras in Soulard – good times meet drunk and stupid.
Two, Grand Center is not nearly as attractive as other venues (I know, this is meant to “grow” its public awareness and use, but we're far from the necessary critical mass). Moving it to Union Station, Laclede's Landing or, eventually, Ballpark Village would probably work better, on many levels.
Three, more and bigger fireworks!!! We all know what NYC does. In recent years, both Las Vegas and Denver have gone “big” and are atracting much larger crowds, as well.
And four, any venue needs to be “right sized”, so that the crowd will actually feel like a a crowd. There's nothing worse than a party that's (apparently) sparsely attended.