Essence Festival organizers disappointed with Houston, Tollett
As KRIV-26 reporter Isiah Carey noted on his blog before anybody else really picked up the story, Essence Festival bigwigs and visitors were apparently not very happy with Houston's hosting of the event out at the Reliant complex.
Complaints focused on transportation to/from the Reliant complex area, and lack of nightlife there.
Apparently, Jordy Tollett and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau learned nothing from the disastrous experience of the Houston International Festival moving out to the parking lots of the Reliant Complex. The festival that thrived downtown nearly went under after the Reliant experience (despite the world-class light-rail transit backbone!), and quickly made plans to move back downtown. Perhaps planners didn't have enough time to secure downtown facilities for the Essence Festival, but they certainly should have foreseen the complaints that were going to come about hosting such an event at the Reliant Complex, especially from people used to walking around New Orleans during the event. Who knows, maybe Tollett and his fellow planners actually believe all the Houtopian nonsense about the light rail.
Today, the Editorial LiveJournalists seem stunned that world-class Houston didn't quite satisfy some Essence Festival folks:
However, Houston knows how to throw a good party, as it did for the Super Bowl in 2002 and the National Basketball Association All-Star Game last February. Many who attended the Essence Music Festival enjoyed themselves. Houston deserves another chance to host the festival after having a full year to plan for it.
How did they not love us?! We're world class! Really! We had the Super Bowl and NBA All-Star Game! And also the Danger Train (they did not add)!
It is unlikely that Houston is going to get another chance to host this festival, as its organizers seem to prefer New Orleans (the festival's home). Indeed, Sedosi suggests the organizers are simply using Houston to get a better deal in New Orleans. That wouldn't be surprising.
Laurence Simon is correct to note that Houston is a city built more around people who work and live than around tourists who shop and play. In other words, it isn't New Orleans or Las Vegas or even Seattle. To most of us -- but not all -- that's a feature, not a flaw!
Still, it seems like Jordy Tollett and crew at least dropped the ball a little bit on this one, especially with regard to the location of this event. And Tollett's defensive tone in every story suggests that he knows it. Since Tollett is never held to account for anything, though, expect the Essence Festival to move, and everyone to ignore the fact that Tollett and his planners didn't do as good a job as they might have. I don't pretend to understand why Jordy Tollett enjoys a job-for-life in Houston free of accountability, but it does seem to be the case.
UPDATE: Matt Bramanti points out that Houston hosted the Super Bowl in 2004 and not 2002 (as the Editorial LiveJournalists erroneously asserted). Whoops!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 07/08/06 11:12 AM | Print |
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