What Happened to the Art?

Second Saturday
Beautiful scenery,tasty food and vibrant bands
Looking for that unusual gift
Or just want to be part of the riff
Talk,skip,jump or dance your voice your choice
A place to meet or have a seat
Fair warning Zombies have been spotted
Around and within the crowd
So if you like the mix with a slight twist
Second Saturday is the place to be

Poem by Alfred Guajardo

The poem by local Sacramento poet and artist Alfred Guajardo describes the, at one point in time, cultural epicenter of the Sacramento art scene, Second Saturday.  A local art event marred by this weekend's tragic ending.

At approximately 12:13 a.m. shots rang out among the large late night Second Saturday crowd on 18th and J Street, leaving Victor Hugo Perez Zavala, 24, dead and three others injured. 

So what happens now after the police have left, the crime tape is rolled up, the streets have been cleaned, and the evidence of Second Saturday's ill-fated series of events are washed away?   Does the city of Sacramento save or scrap the Second Saturday Art Walk? 

The small venue Second Saturday Art Walk was originally created for local midtown Sacramento businesses and art galleries to draw potential customers and showcase local artists.  Since Second Saturday's inception the art enriching event has become so successful that it draws nearly 15,000 people each month to the Midtown area.  With crowds of that magnitude bringing in much needed businesses as well as the typical problems associated with large crowds.

Many local residents worry that the event has lost its original art roots and has turned into more of a street party complete with under-age drinking, shoplifting, noise complaints, public urination, and fights.

This Second Saturday's event was no exception to the problems yet, was actually considered one the most relatively successful Second Saturday events, with only one complaint police call and one police response for a fight.  That was until the shooting two hours after the official closing of the art walk event.

And now comes the finger pointing.

Some say there are not enough police on patrol to control the large crowds which congregate and loiter in front of businesses.  However, the Midtown Business Association paid for five extra police officers to patrol the Second Saturday crowds, bringing the total to a reported 26 officers this past Saturday.

Others feel the under-age kids are causing problems with drinking and fighting.  Yet, the city and police officers were enforcing a curfew for under-age event goers this Saturday.

Many believe the bars and nightclubs are over-serving the patrons and allowing fights to break out.  However, most drinking establishments bring in extra security and staff to deal with the over-indulged crowds.

Others feel that the gangs and thug-wannabes have overrun the event and should be shut down just as the New Years Eve Ball Drop and Thursday night market on K Street were in the past.

Mayor Kevin Johnson, in his infinite wisdom and apparent lack of a budget crisis, has convened a task force to study and present solutions for the security and crowd problems of Second Saturday and vows to continue Second Saturday events.

Hopefully Johnson's task force will see the need to bring the Second Saturday Art Walk back to its roots of being about art and music.