Apple Chill

Speaking of business managers that don't understand the culture from which they profit (or hope to profit)...

A reader points us to an article in today's N & O in which the manager of the not-yet-open Franklin Hotel wants Festifall moved off Franklin Street because it might endanger his building. This guy can't have been in Chapel Hill long as the only street fair he's ever experienced here was last year's Apple Chill, which itself was fine, but ended very very badly.

Although the Franklin will not have any guests during the street fair, [hotel manager Michael] Donaldson said Thursday that fire crews might have trouble responding to the hotel should a problem arise that day.

For years, young black folks (mostly from Durham, we're told) have been congregating on the streets after Apple Chill. This wouldn't be a problem except that they clog the streets with their cruising, and they tend to get into fights with each other. Guns have been pulled more than once.

Making 'After Chill' a Town-sanctioned event should be a very effective way to make it uncool and therefore totally unappealing to young folks. Will the kids just find someplace cooler to hang out, or will this dissipate their energy? Either way, it will increase the safety of our strets in Chapel Hill. Kudos to Apple Chill for this effective response.