I live a block away and never had a problem. DON'T MOVE IT!

Do people want to live in a vibrant community, or Stepford? If it's new residents, they had to know what they were getting into. For long-time residents, it seems they want the benefits of gentrification, but don't want any of the inconveniences that go with it (I suspect they are the same people that complain about increased street parking).

I totally agree with the author of this article.

The centrality of the location, easy access (on foot), and proximity to the neighborhood business district all together are what make this event work. Completely agree with the author, don't move it.

Please don't move it! We love that Del Ray supports the arts and is an active, welcoming community. I will certainly be sending an email to Jack Browand (jack.browand@alexandriava.gov) and Cheryl Lawrence (Cheryl.lawrence@alexandriava.gov). Thanks for letting us know.

Jack Browand already wrote me back: "Thank you for your comments. Please be advised that the event organizers made the recommendation to the City to move the event from its current location for 2013. City staff is working with the event organizers, and when an application is submitted for 2013, their proposal will be addressed at that time."

The event organizers requested the move? This article implied that it was people complaining about the noise... Is that was drove the event organizers to request a move? Can we hear from the event organizers?

The event organizers were strong armed by the city to promise to the complainers that they would move the event otherwise they would not be able to have it again. These people who are complaining, need to learn what a sense of community is. If they do not want to be part of this community, then leave.

Thanks to everyone for the support of our event, this is what makes Del Ray such an awesome place to live!! I received the same email that I think went out to other folks, and as the organizer, I do not believe that Mr. Browand was given all the information prior to the response that he sent out. I will be speaking with him on Monday and I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement so that we can keep the festival in the heart of Del Ray! We were asked to meet about our event and the noise complaints just about a month before our event and ultimately in order to hold the festival this year had to reach an agreement in order to obtain our noise permit, the agreement was that this would be the last year the festival would be held at that location, despite the list of other suggestions that we had provided. I am glad to see that finally other voices are being heard in this debate! We will work with the city on a plan to move forward with this event and I am hopeful that we can keep it exactly where I, as I know many others have enjoyed it year after year!

Please move the complainers instead Jack

I live very close to the current site and could hear it from both my front and back yards. Going outside and hearing the music made me want to attend. I would like to know how many people chose to attend and enjoy the event vs. how many complainers there were. Please don't move it!

We used to have a saying, "Love it or leave it" and I always hated everything that that saying stood for... but now I say it to the complainers. By the way, Complainers, unless you live on a raft in the middle of the ocean, you will always be able to find something about your community that annoys you. For me, and apparently a lot of other residents, too, it is YOU. The secret is to be able to accept a happy medium. You need to live with a little happy tunes from time to time and we need to live with you.

Chris

I live about 1.5 blocks away and the noise is intolerable, as well as the trash left by its followers. I strongly implore the city to restrict/move the event. Del Ray isn't an outdoor music live event destination. Move to Nissan Pavilion if that's what you want.

It is very selfish that community events can be impacted by the few. Many have bee n affected by the economy, have friends and family fighting overseas and one night out of 365 we are able to enjoy free music and each others company in OUR community. I also live a couple blocks from the venue. Intolerable? can someone say drama. The great thing is that the dates are known in plenty of time for complainers to book their trips out to Haymarket

I live on the street directly across from the music festival. We are about a half a block away and closer to the festival than the Complainers. My family loves the events that take place at Colasanto. We go to the Music Festival with our 3 and 4 year old during the daytime, and attend the Cinema Del Ray, the Halloween Parade and Art on the Avenue. The reason we love living here is the feeling of community and the ability to walk to these events. Although we could hear the music festival from our house, our kids went to bed at 8:00 pm and slept soundly the night of the festival with no problem, while we enjoyed the music from our porch. I also think there was no more trash left by the music festival attendees than any other day (Commonwealth is pretty trash ridden every day if you haven't noticed). I've heard that the organizers of the festival bent over backward to accommodate the Complainers, even offering to put them up in a hotel (which they refused), but some people are never happy unless they ruin things for everyone. That must be the case here.

Wait wait wait wait wait. So Colasanto plays host to a multitude of other events throughout the year, but oh dear Lord up above have one out of the 365 days a year that reflects the patchwork that really makes our Del Ray neighborhood, and it is *gulp* intolerable? Granted, I'm biased. My kids were born with music flowing through their blood vessels, rhythm in their stomping feet, and an innate desire to sing just about everything under the sun (trust my Asian-tiger-mom-trained relative-pitch ear, they can't. my eardrums just threw up a little, but hey, I'll grin and bear it because they're using a universal language spoken by so many in this, ahem, kill or be killed world). And seeing little kids jam to live music that is FREE (and, oh, actually really pretty good) and, whoa, LOCAL (and not overproduced and underdressed and fed through the tube) really made me pride that our little Del Ray community is just this real.

Keep this festival at Colasanto. The park is walkable and affords our local businesses enough space to set up tents AND leave space for the bands, and the festival brings people from near and far to see what a great community Del Ray is, reflected in this universal language brought on by local musicians. It may not give everyone just what they want, but like the song goes - this festival gives us, many of us, "what we need."

Complaining about the music festival is akin to building a house ~100 yards from a busy airport and complaining about the planes.

Oh, and if there was a death metal (I hate heavy metal music) festival next door to my house, I would simply make arrangements to be somewhere else on that one day of the year.

...or just suck it up. It really is JUST one day out of 365

Please keep the festival in Del Ray! I will certainly send an email. We bought a house in Del Ray in '92 and had loved how Del Ray has developed over the years with the festivals, parades, etc. If there are petitions to sign, I'll sign one. I am sorry that some people feel they are negatively impacted by the music, but I think there are many more who love the festival and would like to keep it here. It is only one day out of the year.

We moved into the neighborhood (1 block from the park) recently because it is a vibrant, fun and family oriented place; keep the festival where it is! I can't believe (two, three?) complaints could lead to such a bad idea taking shape.

We're a family of six in a small bungalow and we could easily move to a bigger house in the burbs for more breathing room -- but we live like we do, where we do, because we feel the neighborhood is just too special to leave. And events like the music festival and Cinema Del Ray, as well as many others, are what make Del Ray such a wonderful place to live. The events foster community and joy, and I can't imagine that the frustrations of several people could scuttle what brings happiness to so many, many, many more.

Please do not hate local neighbors who complain about the noise. It may be that noise was too loud during the music festival. I live across from the Braddock Rd. fields. Some of the events there literally shook our windows.

I am a huge supporter of events that showcase our neighborhood. Keeping the event in DelRay while turning down the sound just a little bit might make all of the difference.

That agreement has worked well on the upper end of Mt. Vernon Ave.

We live blocks away from the park and Mt. Vernon Ave. We take the good with the bad, during various events the noise gets loud and parking is more difficult. I wouldn't move, the good times (even at these same events) far outweigh the negatives.

I am getting into this discussion a bit late. Is the noise all day too much for the neighbors or is it bothersome at night? The trash issue may be able to be addressed easily by volunteers that stay late to clean up.

Why would the loud complaints of the few drown out the positive, happy times this festival brings to the many! I lived in Fairfax County for 20+ years; then I moved to Del Ray. Why? Because of the neighborhood spirit - which is comprised of so many wonderful events, definitely including the music festival. Please don't systematically destroy what has taken quite a while to build. The Arts - visual & performing - form the basis of the transformation Del Ray has undergone over the last two decades. Use it as a model: don't pick it apart.

It is ridiculous to move the festival from a wonderful site, easily accessed by all Del Ray citizens, to who knows where because 2 people complained! If one of them was Elizabeth W. that makes me extra mad, because she said the "the noise is intolerable, as well as the trash left by its followers." I know for a fact there was NO trash left at the festival, I know because my partner and myself picked it up with an eye for extreme detail. We even went back early the next morning to be sure no trash was left. If 3,000 people loved the festival and 2 complained, could we at least have a vote about if the festival should move or stay?