Two hundred and twenty-five plus events in thirty-one days – only in Downtown.
After the holidays, things didn’t quiet down. It was just the opposite here in Downtown with an average of seven events per day in January. And there truly was something for everyone, from Billy Joel and B.B. King concerts to the Gator Bowl, civic events, farmer’s markets, craft beer afternoon parties, and kid’s happenings. Events of all sizes and types fill nearly 132,000 combined seats at 12 event venues to make Downtown the cultural and entertainment hub of Northeast Florida.
Here’s a fun event fact: Did you know The Jacksonville Landing alone hosted 600 events in 2013, including nearly 220 local bands and artists, nearly 30 national acts and more than 30 charity and non-profit events? That’s astounding.
This past month City Council passed Ordinance 2013-695 to make it easier to hold events Downtown, loosening the restrictive insurance requirements and liability oversight. While we already have a pretty busy calendar, more events are necessary to help support local businesses and continue to make the area more attractive to residents. It’s a positive cycle: the more events we have, the more people come Downtown; the more people Downtown, the more shops, restaurants and nightlife venues open; the more these open, the more people will want to live Downtown and the more attractive Downtown is to new businesses and employers; the more jobs Downtown, the more people will want to live Downtown. Events are the lynch pin in the vibrancy of Downtown, and we look forward to watching our calendar grow in 2014.
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