Re “Mandell Should be Relaxing Now but He Can’t”
The senior member of the City Council came down this morning in about the center of the latest self-inflicted Should We Keep Him/Them/It flap over the state of the ever-tottering Summer Music Festival series.
After the advisory-level Cultural Affairs Commission recommended dramatic alterations to the concert lineup, to the concert schedule and, finally, the uncoupling of the long-running producer, Councilman Scott Malsin offered a split verdict.
Are the crowds too old?
Too local?
Uninterested in patronizing Downtown restaurants after the Thursday night 7-to-9 shows?
Are the current performers too familiar?
Is their music unappetizing to the under-40s City Hall would love to draw?
After noting that the hurricane-strength recommended changes will come before the Redevelopment Agency as soon as next month, Mr. Malsin said:
“The Music Festival is a great community event, but I am concerned that Downtown businesses seem indifferent at best to the series (because the crowd goes home instead of out afterward).
“I am concerned we are not getting enough press about the event. Not to say that we would want to have a great deal more people. But Culver City is not getting much attention in the region as a result of this series. It’s expensive ($75,000 from city coffers) and time-consuming to put together.”
Unlike the ladies of the Cultural Affairs Commission, Mr. Malsin said that “my family and I attend the concerts frequently, and we enjoy them a great deal.”
Sundays? — Mmmm, No
Taking the proposed changes in order:
• Uprooting the 16-year history of Thursday evening concerts and shifting to Sunday afternoon at 4.
“Summer afternoons (at 4) probably are not a good idea because the temperature is likely to be too hot and the sun too strong,” he said. “I do understand the reason for shifting the date to a time when there is a lot less foot traffic Downtown. But people don’t go Downtown on summer Sunday afternoons. They want someplace cooler.”
• Cutting the eight-concert schedule in half and finding a new genre of music with a new producer for four new-style events.
“This is something we should look at,” Mr. Malsin said. “We want the series to be the best possible. We have had this conversation every few years. We talked about it when Steve Rose was on the Council. The Council felt then it was important to consider our options. It is a perfectly healthy conversation to have. The Agency hired Gary Mandell for a particular purpose. The city tries not to hire the same people over and over again without considering new service providers. So I don’t think there is anything surprising about the recommendation we consider our options.”
