Friday, May 27, 2011

Dallas police reaction to recent special events

The past few weeks, I attended the Homegrown Music Fest in Downtown, the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market (of course), and the Brew Riot in Bishop Arts.  Security is key to all outdoor events, such that the City of Dallas requires Dallas Police presence to ensure the safety of all in attendance.  From an event coordinators perspective, this is an expensive but necessary cost, as it's important to have a smooth running event.

It's even better when the police have a positive comments of the event.  Packing up our booth at Homegrown, I overheard a few cops saying how it was a well run event with a good crowd that didn't cause trouble.  As I handed our officer his check and thanked him for coming out, he told me that he looks forward to the Market every month.  At Brew Riot, surrounded by hundreds of people drinking, I witnessed a few cops joking around with each other knowing that vigilance was not a priority on the day.

It's crucial that people have a good time at these events, but it's even more important that everyone feel safe, and if we make the cops' jobs easier, then we make it easier to pull off these special events in the future.  Most importantly, the people who come out to these events, I've observed, appreciate the quality of experience and respect the work it takes it pull these things off.