Wow, someone actually complained about something that a lot of talented people gave up their valuable time and resources to.

Better Block isn't all about throwing a big festival to entertain random people- it is about building connections within a neighborhood and trying to create social capital for permanent change. It is also about creating a representation of an "average day" (NOT a festival) in a neighborhood by testing simple, temporary improvements.

The Farmers Market District is a much stronger place, poised for change, because of the months of planning that went into Better Block.

Unfortunately, if you went by a few days before the event, you likely saw an already transformed Farmers Market District. The updates to the district started several months before the event. The striping on 2nd street & paint on all of the McAnally's buildings are two examples of changes that took place over a much longer period of time than we implemented with last year.

That's a super-helpful explanation - not just the blasting of an outsider who offered a reasonable (albeit uninformed) perception. If the goal is to reveal the potential in an otherwise semi-blighted area, then those involved succeeded. Maybe my expectations were made unreasonable by the way the previous event was described. By the way, I would gladly volunteer for this if I were available on Tuesday evenings.