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Taste of Colorado fence questioned

Barrier criticized; Taste organizers say it's the usual

By John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 28, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Some Civic Center denizens, both longtime regulars and recently arrived protesters, were miffed Wednesday to find the park partially fenced off for this weekend's Taste of Colorado festival.

Some who frequent the park between the Denver City and County Building and the Capitol, say they can't remember Civic Center being cordoned off two days before the festival begins.

But a spokeswoman for Taste of Colorado said the group always has started setting up on the Tuesday night before the event, which opens Friday.

This year, however, in order to leave one section of the park available to protesters, the festival changed the location of its perimeter fence, said Susan Rogers Kark, vice president of the Downtown Denver Partnership.

Thus on Wednesday, a section of the park on the west side of Civic Center was available to protesters and the public.

"I think people are seeing (the fence) where they are not accustomed to seeing it," Kark said.

She said the perimeter will continue to change as the festival takes full control of the site today.

That came as small consolation to Larry Robinson Jr., who rode his bike down a small lane set up along the west side of Broadway.

Robinson clenched a corncob pipe in his mouth with a dollar bill stuffed in the bowl and wore a baseball cap that displayed a four-letter expletive aimed at the police.

"It's control," he said. "They might say Taste of Colorado, but it's more about control.

"I don't go along with it, but it is good police tactics," he added before heading down Broadway.

A trio of teenagers carrying protest signs along the fence also were upset about not being allowed easy access to the park.

"The fence is very passive-aggressive," said Cayce Goldberg, a 19-year-old art student from Denver.

Comments

  • August 28, 2008

    5:23 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    RoloFan writes:

    The DNC has been here since SATURDAY. The city waited until WEDNESDAY to put up the fence, yet Denver has The Taste Of Colorado every year during Labor day weekend, which starts on FRIDAY. Just exactly when did these people expect the city to make preparations for an event that means more to the people who live here year round? And why do the protesters think it's all about them?

    Selfish, selfish, selfish.