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Friday, November 20, 2009 Venezia: Shoppers may go elsewhere after Fashion Island drops carousel Food for Thought By BARBARA VENEZIA CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST "New and Improved!" Buzz words encouraging us to try new products and justifying changes to old ones we've grown accustom to. But is "new" always better? Never one to be overly sentimental, even I was sorry to read that Fashion Island's deleting the Carousel from their new shopping center renovation. This past summer Fashion Island cancelled their long running free concert series. This holiday season the Christmas tree is not as momentous as in years past. Seems the Irvine Company's on a mission to move away from traditions they spent years building, which are so much a part of Newport Beach. When I first covered the cancelation of the concert series back in June, I couldn't fathom why a mall wouldn't want to draw approximately 2,000 people a night into their center. Even considering production costs, didn't restaurants and retailers benefit from the sheer number of people? When I heard the Carousel was going bye-bye, I was equally as puzzled. Didn't anyone think moms and grandparents (who are also shoppers), might be just a little PO'd? There's even a website petition that's sprung up about it. And now they're taking away the pop-jet fountain near Gary's and Co. too? Geez, that fountain brings out the kid in all of us! Sure there are economic reasons that justify the changes, and the Irvine Co's public relations department happily shares those in carefully worded press releases, but what no one's talking about is the intangible value long-standing traditions hold with the public. They create emotional attachments with customers that can't be evaluated in just dollars and cents. The Carousel issue may be larger than any corporate pencil pusher can comprehend. Who doesn't have a childhood memory of your favorite merry-go-round? Parents in this country have watched their kids enjoying carousels since the 1840s. The earliest known depiction of a carousel is in a Byzantine bas-relief dating to around 500 AD, according to Wikepedia.com. But how do you explain magical moments to a faceless corporation? You can't possibly put into words what kids experience going round and round on an extravagantly decorated wooden horse. Those moments in time are etched in a child's mind forever. When those children become parents, they want their kids to share the same magic. If you've ever sat on the sidelines and watched those little faces light up as they hold tightly to the reigns, you have no idea of the impact of this seemingly trivial ride. There was a time when the choices between shopping at Fashion Island or South Coast Plaza were clearer than they are today. Now many of the same retailers are mirrored in both shopping centers. So will it be a question for shoppers if they want to be in-doors or outdoors, or about the "shopping experience" and are carousels a part of that equation? If you're a mom or grandparent, that very well could be a defining reason in making your shopping location decision once the Fashion Island Carousel is no more. It's comforting to know at least one family still sees the merit in tradition, and that's the Segerstroms of South Coast Plaza. Long live their Carousel and Carousel court. Freelance writer Barbara Venezia's opinion column appears online and in The Current every Friday. Email BV at bvontv@earthlink.net |
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