Festival lights up downtown; bring it back

By Dan Alpers

I write this after news reported by Freedom Festival staff that the festival may not return home (downtown) this summer. The main reason for the permit denial could be that a pending inspection could reveal that the May's Island parking garage is not structurally sound.

Greg Eyerly of the city was quoted in a Gazette article as saying that recovery plans include further inspection of said parking garage but that it wouldn't be completed until after the council votes on the festival's return. It seems that if the decision is leaning on this factor, the festival already is doomed.

If this true, what can be done to expedite the process? It seems to me and anyone else who has a vested interest in downtown Cedar Rapids that it would behoove you to have the inspection done before the council votes.

I will be the first person to tell you that my passion for downtown Cedar Rapids has waned greatly since the Armstrong's heyday. I have many positive recollections about downtown, but since the early 1990s, it's been a ghost town.

This is completely untrue during the weeks leading up and including the Freedom Festival. Downtown lights up, the streets fill and laughter and cheering fill the air. In the hours leading up to the grand finale fireworks display, I walk the streets shaking the hands of people that I haven't seen since the previous year's display.

It's times like these that remind me of what our little town has down there in and around that island. It truly is the heart and soul of our city, whether many of us like to admit or not. I'm guessing that if you ask members of City Council what their opinion is, they'll agree with me. To the people who have invested nearly their entire lives in this community, having the Freedom Festival downtown is tradition.

Take the myth of Santa away and the lifeblood of the Christmas season is non-existent.

Take the Freedom Festival out of downtown Cedar Rapids, stand back and watch. One more year of this is out of the question if we want to revitalize the area.

I encourage our mayor, manager and City Council to think back to the times they looked up at a Cedar Rapids fireworks display and remember that feeling of home that has been missing since the flood washed away that summer's festival. It just hasn't been the same since but this year is our opportunity to make things right again.

Dan Alpers, Cedar Rapids native and resident for 33 years, was the 2008 Freedom Festival and BBQ Roundup logo designer. He is president of Central Corridor Gamers. Contact him at dalpers@hotmail.com