Summati
THE
n Weekly USPS Publication Number 16300
T h i s C o m mu n i t y N ew s p a p e r is a publication of Escambia / Santa Rosa Bar Association
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 16, No. 45
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
November 16, 2016
1 Section, 12 Pages
Dawn of a New Night By Josh Newby
AFTER 25 YEARS,
the Downtown Improvement Board’s Gallery Night—responsible for almost half a million dollars each month—came to an end…and then was quickly revitalized by area businesspeople. While much of the spirit of the original event will carry over to the new proceedings, organizers have also been vocal about various changes that they feel will address concerns held by many toward the DIB’s version of the evening.
THE PAST
Gallery Night, at least under DIB management, ended its 25-year tenure in September 2016. The DIB had elected earlier in the year to sunset the popular street celebration due to problems with funding and recent complaints about the event’s departure from its original intention. The event had humble beginnings when, in 1991, Arts Council of Northwest Florida executive director Andy Witt thought it would be a neat idea to partner with local galleries and bring attention to the Downtown area. A couple times a year, the well-to-do in Pensacola were treated to a quiet evening where the focus was art, wine and hushed acoustic and jazz music. Gallery Night, which took cues from similar events in places like Nashville, Charlotte and Savannah, soon became a cultural and economic catalyst for the progress that was beginning to emerge up and down Palafox. Enter the DIB, which was one of the first sponsors of the event, along with eight participating galleries. The evening was held three times a year to coincide with Spring Break, July 4 and the Blue Angels schedules. For several years, it continued to be a middling success, attracting anywhere from a hundred to 300 individuals who enjoyed the art and the quiet, polished atmosphere. As more bars and restaurants began to emerge Downtown, however, and a population boom in the early- to mid-2000s meant increased numbers of young adults, the average age of attendees began to drop considerably. It did not take long before cathartic jazz was replaced by pop-country and electronic hip-hop, and socialization and alcohol eclipsed the art and culture that had been the event’s primary focus. The DIB, a quasi-governmental agency established
by the Florida legislature, completely took over planning and management of the event soon thereafter. After pressure from attendees, as well as bar and restaurant owners, the DIB expanded the event to 12 nights a year and elected to keep the streets closed until midnight. The theory was that an older, more traditional crowd would dominate the restaurants and galleries from about 5 to 9, and a younger, more vibrant demographic would emerge from 9 to midnight. It was not long before all hours were a rousing, packed success. Bars and restaurants stayed busy, the streets were alive with energy, and young people from
all over the region who had never given Pensacola a second thought were coming down not just for the monthly party, but for other weekends of the month, too. The success was not without shortcomings, however. Trash on the streets and sidewalks became overwhelming, shop-owners complained of patrons who simply perused but never purchased, and those who live Downtown frequently complained at the DIB’s Special Events Committee meetings about what Gallery Night had become. The conflict came to a head in 2015 when funding troubles reached the public’s attention. Between police, insurance and other infrastructural and administrative needs, each Gallery Night cost about $8,500 to conduct. While some of this was raised via sponsorships and participation fees, more and more businesses were participating without fronting any of the
cost. Official participants dropped from an average of 35 to just eight over the course of several months. With no funding mechanism in place, no enforcement available for the current fee structure, and
were visitors, they said. “The City and the DIB don’t realize the larger impact of what goes on,” said Joe Abston, owner of Hopjacks and The Tin Cow. The bars/restaurants experienced record prof-
their own 501(c)3—Gallery Night Pensacola Inc.—and will continue on with a more targeted focus. “Used to be, you would walk down the middle of Palafox and have no idea what you’re supposed to
an increasingly vocal minority of individuals who were unhappy with the evening’s evolution, the board decided to call it a night. “The event has served its purpose,” said John Peacock, chairman of the DIB, said at the time. “It has become something else entirely. We don’t want to wake up Saturday morning and find out streets littered with trash. We don’t want to constantly struggle for funding.” Peacock said he was happy with the decision, that this was an opportunity for the DIB to get back to its roots of removing commercial blight, enhancing property values, encouraging economic development and so on. Business owners who profited greatly from the event touted another side. More than 15,000 people crowded downtown each event evening, 92 percent of whom were residents and 8 percent of whom
its on Gallery Night. “It’s a good night for the bars and restaurants, sure, but there’s also a lot of people who plan their regional trips based on Gallery Nights. This is a bigger event than just people in the streets. I would argue Gallery Night made Downtown what it is today, it rejuvenated things, and people don’t remember what those times were like.” In response, Peacock encouraged private enterprise to take over the responsibility and facilitation. Well…
look at or what you’re supposed to be doing,” said Carro. “We’re going to change that. Each of the 12 nights a year will have a focus on a particular art form or community happening, whether it’s performance art or karate or cars. We’re also going to hold off on outdoor hard liquor sales till after 8, so that the early hours will have a family emphasis and the later hours will cater to a party atmosphere.” That renewed focus involves some recently unveiled themes that will help keep things on track. Proposed ideas include local art, glass-blowing, performance art, and even Chinese New Year. All of this is in the interest of a rotating schedule that brings new people to the area each month, while allowing Gallery Night Pensacola Inc. to disallow certain unsavory participants if they do not fit within the preexisting theme. Each Gallery Night will cost around $10,000 to
The Future
It was not long before business-leaders in the area jumped on the opportunity to continue Gallery Night while slightly augmenting it. Real estate developer Michael Carro reached out to people like Abston, developer Bobby Switzer, Fish House owner Collier Merrill, Pensacola Museum of Art executive director Raven Holloway and others about giving the evening a private spin. They founded
put on, which is a slight increase from the cost the DIB paid each month. While funding was always an issue in the last couple years of the former Gallery Night, Carro is confident he can get underwriters and participants to foot the bill. “With the DIB, there was some hesitance to pay because it is a somewhat government agency telling you to pay,” said Carro. “I think it will be different when your business neighbors and friends are sort of elbowing you, saying that you should contribute to this thing that brings 10,000 or 15,000 people to your doorstep.” The fees for participation will be between $100 and $350 for businesses who wish to take part. Carro reports that, already, individuals and organizations who had not participated in the past have come forward with money. A frequent adjacent event to Gallery Night, Seville Quarter’s own row of artists and artisan retailers will continue just as it does now every third Friday of the month. Carro reported a positive relationship between the new non-profit and the Mitchells, who own Seville. Carro and team are also very happy about the new children’s area in front of the TT Wentworth museum, an aspect of the evening he hopes reinforces the family-friendliness of the proceedings from 4 to 8 pm. The transition from old to new was fairly seamless for most. The DIB even helped with logistics and allowed Carro to tag along for the remaining DIB Gallery Nights to get a feel for onthe-ground management. It is anyone’s guess if the new Gallery Night will suffer the same fate as the old, or if private enterprise has truly trimmed the fat and created a better, more lean event that caters to everyone. Regardless, it is encouraging to see this level of community investment and interest in an event 25 years strong.