RECENT COMMENTS
JessOfRVA on then it happens to you...
Becky Metzler on Updated! Guess what's happening on Mosby/Venable?
Mary on then it happens to you...
Sid on then it happens to you...
Becky Metzler on Church Hill Startup Tackles Insurance for Freelancers
Neighbor on then it happens to you...
Dan Rooney on then it happens to you...
re: bagpipes, diapers, urinating
03/25/2012 9:23 PM by John M
One take on the Irish Festival festival that is a mix of love and annoyance:
[All] you need to know is that this neighborhood rocks and they have an Irish Festival once a year. And it’s awesome, it’s great – who doesn’t enjoy a festival? And what’s more, it’s two blocks from my house, convenient for me and convenient for my friends who go and want to swing by and hang out. Yes, I love the Church Hill Irish Festival, BUT it has made me into that old lady on the block who tells those damn kids to get off her lawn.
TAGGED: Church Hill Irish Festival
Lol I wondered why my readership picked up so much. Thanks for the post.
Sunday, I could hear the music all the way down at 33rd and broad. So, either the weather aided acustics or we had volume creep.
You are funny!
I live near the epicenter of the festival and had a person enter my condo, in search a bathroom last year. It was somewhat annoying but humorous at the same time. I was sober for almost all of this year’s festival and noticed many drunk folk doing silly things but nothing terrible. I know I will be picking up a lot of trash in the coming days but it’s a small price to pay for having a fun neighborhood event in your front yard.
I am all for the festival, but it really should be limited to one day. Two full days of being held hostage in your own home/neighborhood, with no parking, music that blasts through your house walls, etc, is too much to ask. We are afraid to leave the house in our car the entire weekend because we will lose our parking spot and have to park miles away. At a minimum, the festival organizers need to create reserved neighborhood/resident only parking, so that you can still go about your life when all the drunks come to town.
I realize that parking is an issue during the festival, but I really don’t think it is that bad. Also, consider that many Church Hill residents live near churches that often take up vast amounts of the available street parking all day Sunday and many weeknights throughout the entire year.
Fighting over street parking is an unfortunate aspect of living in an urban environment. We have it way better than the folks in the Fan, that’s for sure!! If you can’t stand 2 days of an Irish festival one weekend a year, move to the ‘Burbs!
Miles?
I am not crazy about the thumping music in my house either, or the parking and trash issues, though fortunately, it is only once a year, and something we can tolerate for a good cause.
Observer, I have lived here for over a decade. I shouldn’t have to move so I don’t inconvenience the drunks and the festival partygoers so they can park right next to the entrance and not have to walk or take an activity bus. They are coming to my neighborhood and need to accommodate me, not the other way around. I live and pay taxes here. Most of the attendees do not.
@6. Can’t you get more creative than telling someone that lives in this neighborhood, pays taxes, contributes to the neighborhood, tolerates some of the disrespect and abuses of the “visitors”, to “move to the ‘Burbs”? I am not sure why anyone thinks they have a right to tell anyone where to move just because they have a different view.
I’m tired of reading complaints about parking.
Michael – if it is public parking, then they don’t have to accommodate anyone until you get the City to change the law. I’ll admit I live too far away to be bothered by the parking myself, but I would gladly trade two days of inconvenience to be able to have one news headline a year about our neighborhood that doesn’t contain the words “shooting” “robbery” or “murder”. There are few things more Richmondish than all the festivals we have, and being one of the most iconic of Richmond’s neighborhoods, Church Hill absolutely must have some of its own, and to have a large festival in an urban environment someone, whether it is you or not, is going to have to deal with the parking. I wouldn’t go as far as to say if you don’t like it move, but if it bothers you that much use it as an excuse to visit an out of town friend/relative or go on a short trip that weekend.
I was really glad to see so many people out walking to the festival. If that many people would walk the neighborhood regularly North Churchill would feel a lot safer.
I’m tired of reading complaints…
Well put, Bret!
Bret, again it is not my problem to solve by leaving my own house for the weekend to accommodate the festival. For the record, I work two jobs and had to be here this weekend to get work done. I have to work from home and then be able to leave my house and get back to it in a reasonable amount of time several times during the weekend. The fact that I have to explain this to you is ridiculous unto itself. This is my house and my neighborhood. I live here, the festival goers do not.
It is the responsibility of the festival planners to solve this problem. They are the ones who cash in from this festival at my expense. They are the ones who apply for the special festival permit and they have to address these parking issues as part of the process before being granted the permit. If the festival planners do not address these issues and communicate a plan to rectify it, then the city is going to get an earful from myself and many others who live in the immediate vicinity of the festival. I am not the only one who feels this way. Many of my neighbors do as well. Going East on Broad Street up to Church Hill during the festival is an absolute nightmare. All the festival goers in cars are forced to a choke point at 23rd and Broad with a 4 way stop. Being unfamiliar with the area, they sit there and deliberate whether to turn left or right, further adding to the backlog. Then they drive slowly around trailing walkers hoping to score a spot when they leave, furthering the traffic jam. The people in cars behind the “trailers” start honking their horns and gunning their engines to pass them when they get frustrated with the slow driving nearly gunning down a few pedestrians walking in the street in the process.
All these visitors need to be redirected at the base of the hill to one of the many parking lots down in Shockoe Bottom where they can then walk the rest of the way or take an activity bus up to the hill. Only residents should be allowed into the immediate area to park and carry on with their normal lives. It really isn’t that hard to resolve and would make the event much more bearable for the many people who live here. I can’t speak for others, but I am happy to deal with the rest of the inconveniences such as the loud music and drunks peeing and puking on our front yards and alleyways, if the parking situation is addressed. At least those who live here and pay taxes will be able to get to and from their homes. If it is not addressed, then we are going to lobby the city to not approve the festival permit anymore. It is as simple as that.
I’m not trying to be rude by suggesting where someone should move. I live here, I contribute to the community, and I pay taxes, too. I’m tired of people whining when good events come to the Hill that improve our quality of life.
When one chooses to live in an urban environment, parking is always an issue and they need to realize that. I’m not happy about it either, but I’ve chosen to accept it as a fact of life and deal with it as best I can!
If you have a problem with hearing music, then surely you have a problem with hearing sirens. This should help: http://www.ehow.com/soundproof-a-wall/
If you had a problem with driving and parking, we can’t always have princess parking. Try driving anywhere around the city during rush hour, it should teach you to cope.
As for trash, I passed through 25th & Broad on my daily 6pm walk home and you couldn’t tell anything had even gone on this past weekend.
For peeing and puking, be proactive next year. A trashcan and a simple Google search for “Richmond, VA portable toilet rentals” can go a long way.
Michael, a person visiting CH has the same right to on-street parking that you do. You do not own a parking space in the public right-of-way so your argument is unfounded.
I live within the limits of the event in the 2500 block of E. Broad and had no trouble with parking during the festival.
No not whining, we will be taking action. We are being kind enough to put the festival on notice so they have ample time to address the matter so they aren’t caught unawares. Per my post above, it is simple to address and resolve the issue, so the festival can continue. If the festival planners ignore the issue, they do so at their own peril as we will simply lobby City Hall and make sure the permit is denied unless the parking issue for residents is addressed. If not, the permit won’t be issued. It is as simple as that. There is a precedent for this in that parking is typically provided for residents in the impacted area by blocking the streets from auto access in the surrounding area. This is not a novel concept.
LOL at Michael. Yes, a small group of neighbors crying about parking is actually going to end the festival. Just stop. You sound ridiculous.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you are over confident about what will come of our “complaint” to City Hall. Simple as that.
There are multiple festivals around the city and what you are proposing is proposterous considering the city requires every residence in the city to have off street parking. Therefore, street parking is not a right. You have no basis for complaint.
I wanted to clarify beause I realize my post wasn’t very clear:
Multiple fesitvals around the city exist that are far larger impositions on its residence then the Irish Festival. For instance, the Watermelon Festival is a headache for parking and effects a MUCH larger portion of the city then the Irish Festival. I’ve had to park as far down as Kinsington in the past to get in to the festival. No such accomodations are made for the residence of the Museum District or Carytown.
Secondly, I may be speaking out of my arse on the residency requirements. All I know is that when I bought my home in 2005, it was required that there be one off street parking for my home. Therefore, my fence could not be pushed to the ally.
Perhaps someone with more knowledge of city code can speak to that. But, if that was the requirement for my home, I can’t imagine there are different laws for different sides of Broad. Again, nullyfying your complaint.
But good luck with that.
I used to live at 23rd and broad and we had no off street parking. Neither did our 10 closest neighbors. I know of lots of houses near broad st that have no off street parking, so maybe Michael lives in one of these. That said, I agree that it’s just one weekend per year, so just deal with it.
I feel differently about the people peeing puking and leaving diapers in people’s yards. Those people should be arrested.
I work in Cary Town and parking there is a nightmare for residents all the time. No one who lives there complains. If you want guaranteed parking, you need to secure off street parking in your lease or the purchase of your property. Sorry if you did not.
The Irish Festival is such a good thing for Church Hill – it attracts new residents, dispels fear about crime, and allows us to engage in eating, drinking, and camaraderie without having to leave our neighborhood. I’ve often thought that when it’s time to sell my house, I will put it on the market during the festival for all these reasons. Parking issues are a problem for 48 hours tops and t’s easy to circumvent traffic by using Leigh Street (since most non-Church Hillians don’t know that way).
PS Bagpipes rule.
Nobody cashes in on the festival. Its run by a guy who walks the walk and talks the talk …..and does it for a good cause….for twenty some years. Good luck with your complaint…….and its probably a good idea to use your real name when you do it!Who takes anonymous bloggers seriously?
I have been to street festivals where neighborhood streets are closed to with signs reading local residents only. I am sure a shuttle bus could be arranged from the VCU parking lots at the bottom without much trouble. Exploring this idea is really not to much to ask.
Oh man, yet another small group of people putting awesome vents “on notice” in our neighborhood. I live on 25th in the heart of it and we love it. Never felt trapped, no trash and the music wasn’t that bad ever. Come on.
No wonder events don’t like to come to our neighborhood.
Sure, finding ways to bring some parking down the hill with shuttle busses isn’t a bad idea. But ranting about putting them “on notice” is a bit much. The festival does a lot of good for a lot of people – meaning CHARITY.
I take the weekend as an opportunity to walk around the neighborhood, mingle, enjoy the sights and the weather and contribute to the charity of it all. The music is great. And the “drunks” and no where near events like Shamrock the Block. I’d say it’s a fairly tame audience over all.
Good luck, but there are plenty of us that would speak out saying keep the festival in my front yard!!
There used to be shuttles before they built a big dorm in the parking lot.
Um, don’t mistake my blog post–I had fun. So, ya know, don’t project this idea that I’m anti-festival. The festival is cool. People pissing in my yard is not.
Also, for what it’s worth, there was a shuttle being run by To the Bottom and Back.
The real problem is that Irish Americans are an embarrassment to the Irish, and when they persist with the pipes to the Scots.
this message is from tom cary, to michael i am from st. pats every year starting after christmas we plan the festival come by after mass any sunday in the church hall and voice your opion we will accomadate you or anyone else and to f.machugh you make me laugh