In Jonathan Wynn’s “Music/City: American Festivals and Place-making in Austin, Nashville, and Newport”, Wynn writes about how festivals are changing the way cities function. Wynn believes that these festivals provide a different and better opportunity for cities to grow. These festivals allow more people to attend because they cost less than attending traditional sporting events. Also, festivals and concerts will bring in tourists from outside areas to help grow local economies. Cities are straying away from building traditional sporting venues because of the increased benefits of hosting festivals.
There were a few interesting points brought up in class that I wanted to touch on in my blog post. When we spoke about Bowdoin acting as an entertainment machine, it was interesting to hear different perspectives of Ivies and the effect it has on the community. On one side, loud music, inebriated kids wandering all over the place, and plenty of littering all take place in Brunswick, which can weaken ties between Bowdoin and the community. On the other hand, Bowdoin students have an increase consumption throughout Ivies week. Students buy more alcohol and more food, which can help the local economy. Also, the increased purchase of narcotics can also help bolster the underground economy. Although it can be argued that Ivies brings out some bad habits in students, it is certain that helps out the Brunswick economy.
Another interesting point brought up in class was how Bowdoin can act as an entertainment machine in different ways. Throughout the year, Bowdoin provides entertainment outlets for students and the larger Brunswick community. Sporting events, concerts, art exhibits, lectures, and many other events allow students and non-students interact as audience members. These events last throughout the school year and summer. However, during Ivies, Bowdoin changes and is strictly an entertainment machine for the students. During Ivies, many of Bowdoin’s drinking policies change, which is something I have never really understood. Security monitors every Ivies event but does not really step in unless students are doing something extremely stupid. Drinking games and sometimes even hard alcohol are permitted. It is an interesting dynamic that also allows Ivies to be more fun, and also makes Bowdoin even more of an entertainment machine compared to a regular weekend.
While we spoke a lot about Ivies, I was curious to see what people thought about cities straying away from traditional sporting events as entertainment. Boston, which is the closest city to me, has taken a noticeable shift away from sports and put a lot more emphasis on hosting concerts and festivals. In the past two years, Boston has said no to hosting the Olympics and no to building a soccer-specific stadium. Boston has revamped “Boston Calling”, which is the summer festival is hosts and doubled the size of it. Although it wasn’t mentioned in Wynn’s work, Boston is another example that he could have used to back up his argument.
I also found the relationship between Bowdoin and the Brunswick community during ivies week to be interesting. Being from Brunswick, I think I have a unique perspective of what Ivies is like from a community member point of view. I agree with your argument that Ivies actually helps out the Brunswick economy, and additionally, believe that Ivies week has little impact on the community members as whole.
While one might think that quad day would be burdensome for neighbors, it actually is not. For one, Bowdoin intestinally puts it on a Friday knowing that people will most likely be at work. Further, I have friends who live on Longfellow (the road that kids walk down to get to the Brunswick Quad), and they have said that it is not as loud as one would think. Even more so, since kids are walking to and from the quad between 11-4, the noise generated is not nearly as bad as it would be if this took place late at night. The school also does a nice job of keeping kids on the street, and away from community members front lawns. So while the noise and drunkenness is more exaggerated than any other weekend, the time, and preventative measures taken by the college limits its overall impact on the greater Brunswick Community.
Another busy day of Ivies is the Saturday concert. While most families are at home off from work, I also think that it causes few problems with neighbors. In conjunction with preventative measure taken by the College, the locations used for the Saturday concert are mostly free from neighbors. Students party at Ladd, and then walk through Bowdoin owned property to get to the concert, ultimately avoiding the nearby neighbors. Together, the two main days of Ivies are not as harmful to neighbors as one would think. Conversely, I think these two days actually benefit the community as a whole. The school spends a lot of money on food from local stores, ultimately giving them business. Additionally, it attracts people to the Brunswick Community who would otherwise never come (the performers). In this sense, it gives the Brunswick community a name, and forces people to talk about it in new ways. Lastly, as you mention, kids are much more likely to spend money in town, or have food delivered to them, inevitably driving business.
I would agree with Blake’s belief that Ivies week has little impact on the Brunswick community as a whole. As he said, the time and preventative measures taken by the College limits the party on the Brunswick Quad and the concert’s impact on the community. Blake pointed to factors such as the day of the week (Friday) and the time of day (11-4) that Ivies occurs as reasons we do not see more Brunswick residents complaining. As a member of a fall athletic team that plays outside on Wednesday evenings around 7pm and on Saturday and Sunday morning around 10am-11am, it is interesting to think of the impact these athletic events have compared to Ivies. Brunswick community members attend our games with excitement, and these athletic contests undoubtedly strengthen the relationship between students and Brunswick residents. However, I think that community members complain about the noise and music choices during these athletic contests more than they complain about Ivies. Whereas Ivies is intentionally put on a Friday, knowing that people will most likely be at work, these athletic contests occur as early as “sleep-in” time on the weekends. Additionally, most coaches I know make sure to tell the team that their warm-up playlist cannot contain any inappropriate words or phrases. I would argue that these weekly athletic events have more of an effect on the Brunswick community than Ivies does. Needless to say, these athletic events certainly allow student spectators and Brunswick spectators to interact. Some of my team’s biggest fans are local, Brunswick residents who have been following our games for years on end. They take care to learn all of the players’ names, and even join us for our tailgates after. Some Brunswick residents are so invested in our team that they ask players to babysit their kids, and have even invited players over for dinner at their houses. In this sense, sporting events, despite generating complaints, can allow Bowdoin to operate as an entertainment machine for many local residents and can strengthen ties between the community as a whole.
I would like to respond to Sam’s connection to Boston as an entertainment machine. As defined by Terry Nichols Clark, “The City as an Entertainment Machine” can be thought of in a more general sense as service economies in response to of globalization and the demands of the creative class. While these trends and the increased emphasis on leisure, art, spatial aesthetic, etc. which follows can easily translate into festivalization, are these changes seen in other aspects of Boston culture? Is the increase in festivals in Boston truly detracting from it’s historical emphasis on athletics? How is this affecting the Boston’s “brand” and long-term residents sense of community and shared culture? As we discussed in class, culture is often intertwined with growth and branding efforts. Therefore, one could assume the increasing focus on festivals and concerts would be having significant effects on both outsiders’ and locals’ perception of Boston. However, while I agree with Sam that the shift has been noticeable, I would argue that the festivalization is not yet becoming the dominant force in shaping Boston culture. In fact, although the temporary nature of festivals and concerts are thought to generate draw in cultural/economic capital from outsiders to benefit the city, I believe the long standing sources of entertainment, leisure, and culture are still the defining factors of Boston’s “brand.” For example, Boston’s Freedom Trail, connection to the Revolutionary War, renowned academic institutions, and iconic sports figures/teams not only provide a strong sense of community and shared culture for local residents (both creative class and other populations), but also draw in outsiders as well. Can cities like Boston utilize the city’s history and longstanding culture to promote themselves as entertainment machines, or is a new mode of social and economic capital necessary and mutually exclusive? Will Boston eventually abandon its defining aspects above as it tends toward festivalization?
While I have also noticed that Boston has noticeably increased its interest in music and concerts, I do not think Boston Calling will change the city’s brand or culture unless the festival itself is reworked. Up until this past year, the festival was held inside the city, but size constraints of City Hall Plaza caused the venue to be moved to the Harvard athletic fields. Although I personally did not go, many of my friends went and said it was more like a real music festival and better than previous years. I wonder if the increase in attendance and offerings allowed by the Harvard venue will bring more attention and legitimacy to the festival. If it does, will it be thought of as a Boston event or a Harvard/Cambridge one? Furthermore, tickets to Calling are quite expensive. Coming from a city where one can by Red Sox tickets for $35, a $200+ festival ticket does not seem as appealing.
To go off the points made by Sam, Blake, and Julianna, I would agree that Ivies does not have as big of a impact as Bowdoin would like us to believe. The festivities and nature of the weekend is certainly one of a kind, but, overall, the proceedings are relatively contained. For example, the Friday of Ivies, aka quad day, is probably the most popular and boisterous day of the weekend, however, it is confined to the middle of Brunswick apartments. Saturday is the concert day, which has since been moved to the inside of Farley to prevent any noise complaints or discomforts. It would be naïve to say that Ivies is effectively confined and that Brunswick residents don’t take issue with the weekend, but it may not be as detrimental to the community as previously thought. Furthermore, the point raised about the economic production from the weekend is an interesting variable in the relationship between Bowdoin and the Brunswick community. The added indulgence in a weekend like Ivies will certainly bring extra revenue to establishments that sell alcohol and related necessities, but it’s important to think about the places that are making the most money. For example, added money going to a place like Hannafords is not as beneficial as extra business going to a place like Lighthouse Variety & Deli. Smaller, more locally run places such as Lighthouse will benefit from the increased demand, but it would be interesting to see how much more revenue corporate places such as Hannafords, Walmart, or Dominos are bringing in versus places such as Lighthouse, Big Top, and Fat Boy’s. In any case, I think the town of Brunswick benefits more than it’s hurt from Ivies weekend and the added involvement it produces.
In terms of festivalization, I agree with Sam in the sense that certain cities such as Nashville and Austin are putting money into festival venues and resources rather than stadiums and sporting venues because of the long term benefits and targeted demographic. The accessibility of festivals and other events like it allow for members of the creative class and other desired attendants to partake in opportunities that contribute to the region. The idea and logic behind these decisions make sense and are yielding results however, I don’t think the transition has been fully completed in all places. In the case of Boston, I think Haley made a good point about Boston’s brand and the way sports are integral for that brand. A team like the Red Sox is so crucial for the overall demeanor and culture of Boston that their importance and popularity will most likely stay consistent in the face of festivals and other, less expensive events. This is not to say that festivalization is not occurring in Boston because, as is this the case with most cities, it is sensible to appeal to the creative class and draw young people to your space, but, in Boston’s case, they are striking a balance between history and future. I don’t think that sports in Boston are going anywhere or getting less popular anytime soon, but the next generation of young, urban residents have different interests that cities like Boston will be focused on accommodating.
On the same vein of Blake’s point, I find Bowdoin provides a lot of business and have established many accommodations so that the community is not disturbed. Being on the entertainment board, we additionally even placed flyers on resident’s door that may be in the same vicinity of where noise levels may be higher. Even though the event has been moved inside, Bowdoin still wants to establish a good rapport with the community. I spoke with one of An interesting shift would be if Bowdoin started having more daytime parties. The event of ivies is one weekend where everyone goes wild. Would the dynamics change with more daytime parties? How would residents react? Definitely, if there are more occurrences of noise and other nuisances there may be negative effects. I think it is definitely good that Bowdoin contains at least one weekend of intense partying in comparison to other universities where parties are the norm. Throughout the year, Bowdoin operates as a full entertainment machine with concerts and events that are accessible to the Bowdoin community. The interaction between the community and the college become essential in maintaining an entertainment machine where both sides can participate.
I think another thing to consider, beyond what’s already been discussed, is how the relationship with the college has changed over time. Most of us are quick to recognize that, even /with/ ivies, Bowdoin isn’t exactly a party school. But what has the relationship been like in the past? If you hear from alums, particularly those that lived in houses, all they complain about is the watering down of bowdoins party culture. That means that we must have come from somewhere – what effects did that have? In the future one may look back and see we were a college that had a lot more off campus living. We, as the people occupying the space now, know why that happened and what impact the town had to make that happen. Can we ask similar questions here if our past?