Because Street Scene needs ANOTHER person saying it should be downtown where it belongs

Well, San Diego City Beat gathered all the information, ran all the tests and made it official: Festivals are dying because America just ain't ready for that kind of fun.

I beg to differ, as a Northern Californian who has family members that plan their year around Festival Season and who often tell me "sorry I'm booked up the next 25 weekends because of Festivals."

But, this all goes back to Street Scene.

I have mixed feelings, which I have been attempting to reserve for conversations with my husband about how I managed to make it an OG Street Scene and how cool that makes me. And I am one of those complainy people who believes that Street Scene belongs downtown, in the street, screw it if it doesn't make logistical sense.

I digress. City Beat provides a nice recap of what went down with the changes in (Not)Street Scene and how downtown wooed it, loved it, dated it and promptly dumped it once it felt good enough about it self not to need it.

From a business standpoint, it was a good move. Street Scene pulled in a record 105,000 people in two days, breaking its own record of 100,000, set back in 2001. Unfortunately, downtown San Diego was experiencing a similar explosion. As one insider explains, "The business owners used to welcome [Street Scene]. But once downtown was revitalized, it really hurt businesses. The Chamber [of Commerce] and the Gaslamp Association started to galvanize against the event."

Downtown San Diego, in essence, no longer needed Street Scene's brand of public relations. Conveniently, the area's development also meant there was no room for a festival of its size. Squeezed out of the Gaslamp, Street Scene moved to Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley for 2005 and 2006. While Hagey and his production company did an admirable job of transforming the venue--and the stadium's expansive parking lot made for easy stage-to-stage access--many fans grumbled, calling it "Parking Lot Scene."

Hagey was roundly rejected. Reports in the Union-Tribune made it seem as if he were one instigative chuckle from being laughed out of the room. Committee member Vicki Granowitz was quoted as saying, "You couldn't pay the park enough to have this event."

Come on San Diego, embrace your crowded scenes... I probably won't go even if does move back to downtown... cause it's too crowded... and I'm too old but STILL...