Los Angeles Street Scene

The decision to cancel the L.A. Street Scene is like throwing out your car because the engine needs tuning. If the rock bands are causing an unsavory element to attend the L.A. Street Scene, you ban the bands, not the entire event.

We attended L.A. Street Scene and were enchanted. We wandered among colorful art and craft stalls, sampled ethnic food and watched African dancers in a performance I would have gladly paid for.

We enjoyed the colorful characters, most of them ordinary folk who had “dressed up” for the event, and we noted in particular the large number and variety of families with small children, most of whom were having a great time. There were clowns and mimes and a marvelous, huge clay sculpture that kept them busy for hours.

The problem lies not in the concept of the event, but in trying to make it attractive to a disparate audience. So what if rock bands have to be banned? They have plenty of other places to stage their form of culture. We Angelenos have few places in which to celebrate our diversity and our unity.

The mayor’s decision was made in haste. When the enormous contribution that the L.A. Scene has made to this city’s cultural life if thought out, perhaps the sense of proper outrage that prompted the decision to cancel will be directed at the appropriate targets.

MARTIN ELKORT

Beverly Hills