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# Bill Bauer My Write
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/bill-bauer-send-comments-to-editor-smdp-com-my-write/
- Published: 2008-07-28T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T00:24:41.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Pier, #archive-import

GLOW, SANTA MONICA’S FIRST FORAY into the world of contemporary, large scale art festivals occurred last weekend on the world famous Santa Monica Pier and adjacent beachfront from 7 p.m. Saturday, July 19 through Sunday morning, July 20 at 7 a.m. The event was a rousing success — maybe too successful.

Billed as a “free interactive art and music experience,” Glow featured the sights and sounds of over 100 art pieces. Promising a unique visual and tactile surprise to local residents, art lovers and tourists of all ages, Glow ran continuously from dusk to dawn.

According to Jessica Cusick, the city’s cultural affairs manager, Glow was a tremendous success attended by four times its anticipated audience. Organizers estimated Glow would draw about 50,000 festival-goers. However, Santa Monica Police estimate over 200,000 showed up with as many as 75,000 on the pier and beach at any given time.

While most of you probably thought the hot ticket that weekend was “The Dark Knight,” news about the “ultimate beach rave” flooded the Internet. Web sites and blogs touted Glow to ravers and young party people as a “groovy” extravaganza in light and sound on the sand.

According to a city press release, by Saturday afternoon, Internet traffic had significantly slowed the city’s Web servers. Additionally, 10,000 invitations were sent out from the popular on-line networking site, Facebook, alone.

Glow was our “Burning Man at the beach” a local artist told me. The reference was to the iconic “Burning Man” — an annual eight-day "art and self-expression" festival in the desert northeast of Reno named after a large, wooden, male effigy that’s burned during the event.

There was no burning man here, but there were a lot of "burned up” people because traffic and parking was a nightmare. Although city shuttles ferried folks from various parking lots to the pier, it wasn’t nearly adequate. On most summer weekends, pier, beach and Third Street Promenade traffic and parking are bad enough — even without a free, all night art festival on the sand.

The Santa Monica Red Cross, which provided a first aid station at Glow, was almost overwhelmed with numerous people requesting treatment for cuts, blisters and puncture wounds. Executive director, John Pacheco, who helped staff the station, told me the disaster relief organization came close to running out of first aid supplies because traffic gridlock made resupply very difficult.

Last week, the Internet again was buzzing. Yelp.com, LAist and other Web sites carried complaints ranging from traffic and crushing crowds to uninspiring and amateurish exhibits. Others praised the art and the event as a whole — after all it was free. In any case, it beats Burning Man, whose eight-day passes cost $225 and up this year.

The good news was that there were “no major incidents” and many people had a great time. This prompted Cusick to say, “In light of the event’s phenomenal success and lessons learned, by 2010 (the next Glow event), improvements will be made.”

These days, any large, free public event runs the risk of attracting gangbangers and troublemakers as the city found out when it suspended the Fourth of July beach fireworks nearly 20 years ago. Instead of entertaining all of Southern California, maybe the Community and Cultural Affairs folks should look to revamping and expanding the Santa Monica Arts Festival currently held in May at Clover Park.

This laid-back, daytime, community event has evolved into a showcase for crafts, city departments, various nonprofits and neighborhood organizations that really don’t have much to do with the arts.Perhaps,moving it to June or July, extending its hours and playing up its arts and creative aspects would fulfill the same purpose as Glow, but without the potential down side inherent in an unrestricted beach festival attracting a regional audience.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 28, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/072808.pdf?ref=smdp.com)