Tonight I overheard several visitors in Bushnell Park complaining about the lack of lights. The Festival of Light in the park was meant to expand on what was already going on at Constitutional Plaza, not replace it entirely. Somehow, few people got that message.
It is puzzling how people just are not able to receive information, even when it has been spelled out for them. When I checked my blog statistics today, I noticed a few interesting things: (1) for a non-work day, the traffic was very heavy (2) almost all of the readers were here for information about the festival (3) only three located the page on where to park their cars. When I arrived at the park, some incompetent driver was attempting to parallel park her car to block a curb cut and cross walk.
Back to the lights: truthfully, it was a bit disappointing to see one tree lit up, some glowing pathways, and floodlights, but no real trees decorated to their potential. I checked in with Sarah Barr, the City Director of Communications. She said that the light display is “evolving” and that more would be up when the skating rink opens on December 10th.
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Chris
Having been there “Opening night” and having passed by after dark since then, I’d say the lights look nice enough, but the thing that ruins it for me is the generator trailers sitting in plain sight and running all night. Even across Trumbull Street with a stuffy nose, I found the smell of diesel exhaust to be really noticeable. Festive is nice, but does Hartford really need any more asthma triggers?
Kerri Provost
Actually, yes, it does. Not all of its residents are yet in compliance with the Ye All Must Be Asthmatic ordinance.
The generators run during daylight hours too.
Damian
If you are indeed puzzled as to “how people just are not able to receive information” then you ought to check out how it’s spelled out for them: http://dennishouse.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/festival-of-light-to-move/ Mr. House uses “move” rather than “expand.”
Here’s an example of how that information affected some people: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/topic/51956-rink-and-festival-of-light-coming-to-bushnell-park/
In any case, hope this helps solve the puzzle. Thanks for running a useful, constructive blog; keep up the good work.
Kerri Provost
What was on House’s blog reflects what the media received in the earliest of press releases from the City of Hartford. A series of these were sent out and most media developed their coverage to reflect these changes. In any case, it’s good sense to plan ahead by checking in with event planners and the venue to ascertain what, if any changes, have taken place.