At last year's fest a man reversed out of Bowden Road into myself and a friend walking by (my friend had a recent spine op and I was nursing a broken collarbone) and when I banged my hand on his window to stop him, he lept out and threatened to attack me and used racial slurs against us. We were protected by the security of the Thai restaurant and bystanders.
This year I had higher hopes but the first think I saw as I arrived on Lower Main at 9pm on Saturday was large bald black man pursuing and then beating up a thin coloured man on the pavement outside the record shop. The coloured man was on the floor wailing for him to stop and got up and tried to run away. When he got a few meters away his assailant went after him again with a gun in his hand but he lost interest and sauntered back towards the fest casually tucking his gun into his waistband. He didn't give a hoot who saw him and the 100 or so people also in Lower Main didn't bat an eyelid either. Nobody was even looking during the fight, nor took any heed of the man's weapon. I gingerly tried to follow him looking for a policeman to point him out to but I was anxious to avoid being spotted. For several minutes I couldn't see a single custodian of any kind and then he was lost in the throng. In general I found the crowds to be very drunk and volatile and as a result the atmosphere was intimidating. Walking or even standing anywhere without getting bashed into or stepped on was very difficult. In the end the best policy seemed to be to get away. Darien Lane, of course, is a public toilet at all times but I also saw someone urinating in a shop front in Lower Main. The situation is actually quite easy to understand if you consider it in the same light as similar gatherings. It is just like an outdoor festival such as a rock concert where there thousands of drunk young people, they leave litter, they fight, they urinate and have to be managed. This is understood and expected of rock concerts and festivals so specific measures and controls are considered normal. E.g.,: - charged entry; - no alcohol brought in; - provided toilet facilities; - lots of big bouncers with attitude and radios; - controlled entry and exit points searching of people for drugs and weapons; - police presence (road blocks) for embarkation to check for drunk drivers. Many of these measures are completely at odds with what is intended to be family and community-friendly street festival however after dark Obsfest is neither of those things. If we expect it to be any different something needs to change - the policy towards control and policing or the venue. On Dec 8, 2:04 pm, Darth Brink <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > We've had enough. I love Obz, love the (usual) vibe, but after this > weekend I have had enough. I agree with Jo-Anne - where is the > carnival we used to love? > > Few notes to consider for future fests: > > 1. One entry point (where a small entry fee is charged), and one exit > point. > 2. Security personnel to ensure none of the revelers enter the > streets outside the festival area, unless they can produce a residents > permit, or are accompanied by a resident with a valid permit. > 3. Parking in a few designated areas, and visitors being shuttled > back and forth (from the entry point and exit point). This would be > covered by the entry fee that is charged. > 4, Enforced Closing Times. Not only music, revelers must LEAVE!!! > > This might seem a bit hectic, but I cannot see our neighberhood > surviving another fest. Our street is filthy, broken bottles and > human waste everywhere... Cars scratched from drunks falling against > it (or on purpose when we asked them to tone it down)... and because > it is not in the festival area, we have to clean it ourselves. > > Our neighbour across the street was home alone with her 1 year old > toddler the weekend, neither of them slept. Once she braved going > outside to try and get a Corsa bakkie who was parked in front of her > house to turn their music volume down. She was told to get her hands > off their car, and was threatened by the dancing passengers on the > back. Scared, she retreated inside, but only after asking one of the > parking marshals from Lower Main to assist. His rude and unhelpful > reply: "We're working on it - stop interfering". > > I know these are isolated incidents, and the festival only happens > once a year... I want to know, is it really worth it? > > And as this thread is headed, How does Observatory benefit??? > > We surely don't. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
