We’re still reeling from this weekend’s shooting at Second Saturday. Although the eruption of violence did not come as a complete surprise given the size of the crowds, none of us here predicted anything like this. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and we hope that this tragedy will inspire actions that will make Second Saturday safer for all.
What is the answer? How do we make Second Saturday safe and fun for all?
Like most Midtowners, we’ve been both excited and concerned by the explosive growth of this event. Seeing the neighborhood full of people has been a joy, even if the crowd’s sometimes surly behavior has not. As Second Saturday has shifted from its initial focus as an art event to more of ‘block party,’ many Midtown residents have voiced their displeasure. Our own Bill Burg has often been on the frontlines of these discussions- relating his own experiences with drunks in his yard at 4AM, cleaning up their trash and even washing their piss off his porch. Ironically, the homeless population that is so often the subject of public scorn has caused Burg far less trouble than the drunken suburbanites who come to Midtown for the party.
Yesterday, MBA head Rob Kerth, Midtown Neighborhood Association’s Matt Piner, and Sac PD captain Dana Matthes were guests on KXJZ’s INSIGHT program, hosted by Jeffrey Callison. The good news is that no one at the city, from the Mayor on down, is suggesting the same drastic reaction that killed K Street’s Thursday Night Market. How they will handle the event from here on out is still an open question.
So, we offer an open forum here: What do YOU suggest? What do you like, or not like, about Second Saturday? What will make it better?
We were a bit perplexed when we got a press release announcing that the new ‘Brand Identity’ of Midtown Sacramento would be unveiled last week. We were even more perplexed when we actually saw it.
It’s not that the logo isn’t nice. It’s well designed, I’d even say it’s visually ‘catchy’, as far as that goes. The scribble reminds me of ’50s Italian abstract sculpture more than anything, so Hot Italian was probably stoked.
But I truly can’t imagine the thought process that went into choosing ‘Go Your Own Way’ as a tag line, since A) Fleetwood Mac will probably sue us; B) who thought it was a good idea to associate Midtown with a rock group more famous for cocaine addiction than anything else? Was this just a tip-of-the-hat to that certain uber-successful Midtown businessman who made his bones as a coke dealer back in the ’70s?
Whatever. I’m inclined to ‘roll with it’ as local style-maker and boutique owner Olivia Coelho suggested in her comments on Heckasac. It’s done, it cost an ass-load of money (don’t even ask, it will make you so angry your teeth will hurt), and it could have been way worse.
Rob Kerth, quoted in the Business Journal, suggested plenty of uses for the new logo. “The logo will show up on t-shirts, banners and window stickers the association is making available to businesses. We’ll think of some other clever uses along the way.”
Reader Marion Millin sent us her suggestions for other clever uses. We thought they were too good not to share:
Hire Ground Chuck to draw the logo in chalk on the sidewalk in front of participating businesses
Hold hop scotch competitions and let kids compete for whose game is craziest
Print the new logo on meal tickets with prices, tax and totals artfully spread on the “grid”
Tell people it’s an old Gold Rush symbol used by miners to hide location of their claim
Hire Midtown Hipsters to get tattooed with the new logo
Encourage use of the cartoon grid as the template for Midtown bar crawls, bike rides and scavenger hunts
Check departing patrons level of inebriation by having them try to trace the logo
Bumperstickers on Humvees and Escalades: “Midtown: Get Out Of My Way”
Require barristas to draw new logo in foam on espresso drinks
Social networking to spread the buzz that we are now “Scribblemento”
T-shirts for locals: “Welcome to Midtown: Now Go Away”
Tell people the real logo will be ready soon
-Marion Millin