If love makes the world go ’round, it’s thumpin’ music, drug paraphernalia, and a sprinkle of nudity that help make the annual end-of-summer San Francisco street party LovEvolution a success for its clientele of 20somethings.
But the most important factor in ensuring that LovEvolution takes place to begin with is location, location, location, and right now that’s exactly what organizers are lacking after the city committee that oversees street closures in San Francisco refused to give them a permit to hold the event at the Civic Center due to safety concerns.
These worries stem primarily from the fact that many more people came to LovEvolution (formerly known as LoveFest) last year than the City anticipated, and after 21 people were killed in a stampede at the Love Parade in Germany earlier this summer, San Francisco officials want to ensure that the event takes place at a venue that can properly accommodate the large crowds.
In an entry in Fog City Journal shortly after last year’s LovEvolution, partygoer William Chadwick detailed his experience at the event, aptly naming the entry, “2009 San Francisco LovEvolution: A Clusterf*ck.”
“There was simply too many people, and trying to police and contain the whole event was simply unmanageable,” Chadwick said. “In the end, I hardly danced for more than ten minutes because there was absolutely no room among the throng and press of people packed like sardines close to each of the DJ floats.”
LovEvolution organizers recently posted a statement on their website (beware the dance music autoplay) acknowledging that the Civic Center will not be hosting the party this year, after all.
“We have worked for months with city authorities on a plan that would allow us to continue at Civic Center, but in the end, it was concluded that our Civic Center festival site was not large enough to safely host an event of such huge popularity,” the statement read.
“We’ve been working on an alternative site and continue to do so. We hope to make an announcement next week.”
Rumor has it that the alternative site could potentially be Candlestick Park, the somewhat dilapidated home of the San Francisco 49ers professional football team. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, LovEvolution organizers are set to meet with the city tomorrow to discuss making the Hunters Point stadium the new home of the rave.
So would you want the LovEvolution to continue in San Francisco this year, and if so what venue do you think could best accommodate it? Would sticking partygoers at the ‘Stick be the best possible solution, or would you rather them get out of dodge and have the event be nixed altogether?
