It depends on which Market Square businesses you are talking about. As I said in an earlier thread -- some Market Square business owners say they close up early on most* Sundown nights because they don't want to deal with a bunch of drunken teenagers.

(*the exception would be when the act coming in is geared to a more adult audience -- Marcia Ball comes to mind)

Granted, these are retailers. Talk to them, and you hear exasperation with people damaging merchandise and peeing (and worse) in their doorways and on their storefronts. Peeing is a big issue when you got 4,000 beer-swillers and six porta-potties. The aftermath has been bad, too, when the portapotties are allowed to sit there, full and festering, until the next Sundown rolls around.

Bar and restaurant owners probably feel differently, although they've certainly had their run-ins with the Sundown people, who want to have a monopoly on outdoor beer sales.

This gets you back to the seminal questions of what the rejuvenated Square was supposed to be. Allegedly, it was to be a mixed-use urban development with lots of retail. In reality, what was created was more like an concert venue, ringed with restaurants and bars -- an entertainment district, to compete with the Old City, that entertainment district the city already created two blocks away.

This is Ashley Capps here and I would like to respond to a few of these comments, especially those from Betty Bean. Betty is known to have a bit of an axe to grind here - and she likes to grind it - although she's never done so to me directly. But some of her comments above are distortions of the truth and have a real spin to them that creates a very erroneous impression.

First, let me say this: We've given serious consideration to moving Sundown to the World's Fair Park (although not to the Amphitheater as it would not work for this purpose). Sundown would be much easier to produce at the WFP and there would be other advantages (from our perspective) that make this option attractive. But for now, we've decided to keep it where it is, especially to celebrate its 10th Anniversary this year.

However, it's fair to say that virtually no one involved with Market Square or with the CIty of Knoxville is really keen to see this happen at this time. Contrary to the impression created by Betty, there is very strong support for Sundown from the Market Square District Association. While it is true that Sundown has had its growing pains and that there are definitely some organizational challenges to staging it on Market Square, we have worked very closely and carefully with merchants and property owners on the Square to do everything possible to maximize the positives and minimize the negatives. I think anyone of those who have chosen to be engaged in this process would agree that we have made exemplary efforts to communicate with everyone on the Market Square and address their problems and concerns. It hasn't been perfect - and it certainly isn't possible to make all of the people happy all of the time (to paraphrase either Bob Dylan or Abe Lincoln or both...) - but we've worked hard to create the best workable situation for the common good.

I seldom, if ever, hear "exasperation" about the event from Market Square business owners of any kind. Scott and Lisa at Bliss are among its biggest supporters, and Scott has told me several stories about customers who have "discovered" their store during Sundown and returned later. Scott and Mahastie at the Tomato Head have also been long time and very strong advocates. Andie Ray has been a bit cooler in her enthusiasm, but, at least to my face, has generally been supportive. One of the biggest complaints that we've had, in fact, is that we only do 12 of them. Some were very disappointed when we elected not to stage Autumn on the Square this past fall...so much so that Scott West and others planned to step in and create a concert series of their own.

And, by the way, porto-potties do not stay in place from week to week either. They are removed first thing the following morning. That was a poor decision that was made one season many years ago and rapidly abandoned. These days, it has only happened when requested by the Market Square District Association to help service another event.

The phenomenal success and growth of Sundown has definitely had its challenges. And it is entirely possible that both Market Square and Sundown may have started to out grow one another. We'll be discussing this with Market Square business owners, the City, and others during the upcoming season.