Breakin' Curfew flyers will come down after the show, we promise
This morning, someone left a bunch of torn-down Breakin' Curfew posters outside the Neutral Zone.
photo courtesy of the Neutral Zone
Spring has sprung, and along with the blooming flowers and trees, the ever- present bright yellow impact flyers advertising Breakin’ Curfew are everywhere. They’re on various lampposts, telephone poles, and electrical boxes all over Ann Arbor. If you’re not familiar with Breakin’ Curfew, it’s an annual show held at the Power Center featuring local teen talent. It’s put on by a group of teen curators who work with the Neutral Zone, Ann Arbor’s Teen Center, and with the University Musical Society. In the weeks approaching the show, we try to get the word out as best we can, so we proudly put our flyers up around town.
Recently, we have been receiving complaints from a couple of concerned Ann Arbor residents. Some have even gone so far as attempting to stop teens while flyering, or just tearing down any Breakin’ Curfew flyers they see. I’m hoping that we can reach a happy medium. We’re not young rapscallions going out with the intent to vandalize and litter, we’re just trying to promote a project that we’ve been working on for the past nine months.
Admittedly, in years past, we haven’t done the best job of cleaning up our flyers after the show… but this year we have a better plan. The same groups of teens who go out putting these posters up will go around town taking them down the Wednesday after the show. The reason we put them up in such magnitude at intersections is because of the marketing benefit of visibility and repetition.
Don’t judge us by our flyers. If you’ve never seen Breakin’ Curfew, please accept our invitation, and come check out the show for yourself. If you see the caliber of talent, showmanship, and work that goes into this production, I’m sure you’ll appreciate the pride us curators feel for the show, and our desire to share the show with everyone.
Breakin’ Curfew blends spoken word, dance, rock-and- roll, hip-hop, classical music, jazz, and much more for a single blow-out extravaganza of thought-provoking musical, lyrical, and visual art. This truly one-of-a-kind show exists only in Ann Arbor, and provides countless teens with invaluable opportunities.
So to our fellow Ann Arborites, we ask of you this small favor: please bear with us for the next few days. Don’t worry about the flyers for now, and check out the show (Saturday May 15th at 8pm at the Power Center. www.ums.org or 734-764-2538 for tickets) before tearing our flyers down. And if you are concerned or annoyed by our flyers, we welcome you to come help us tear them down and clean them up on May 19th.
- David A. Shapiro Senior, Community High School Producer, Breakin’ Curfew 2010 Neutral Zone Board of Directors
Comments
AAJoker
Tue, May 18, 2010 : 9:08 p.m.
Thanks bowcare, I passed over that detail when I reread the article.
bowcare
Tue, May 18, 2010 : 12:09 p.m.
AA Joker, the article says they will come down the Wednesday after the show.
AAJoker
Tue, May 18, 2010 : 8:20 a.m.
David, What is your deadline for taking down the signs? I still see them around town... AndyYpsilanti, If you read through the posts above, no other group posts the shear number of signs used by breakin' curfew and in the wide number of areas. There has been NO age orientation in any of the comments, simply folks asking that breakin' curfew stops trashing the town.
AndyYpsilanti
Sun, May 16, 2010 : 8:24 p.m.
Again, the Break'n Curfew poster go up once a year, as oppose to every venue in town, or ACT prep, book sales, U of M function, event, you name it. Ann Arbor gets wallpapered once a week by someone. But hey, it's easier to be harsh and pick on kids instead of adults right? Typical Ann Arbor. Can't see the forest for the trees. Or flyers.
Duane Collicott
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 2:58 p.m.
Yeah, silly me. I'm in favor of following laws.
AAJoker
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 11:47 a.m.
Bowcare, No one was complaining about the teens, people are complaining about litter that appears to have been created by the teens. Two different things.
bowcare
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 10:43 a.m.
Thank you David and all the Breakin' Curfew curators who work tirelessly to put on an amazing show every year. People complain about teenagers and what's happening to them. The Neutral Zone does an fabulous job giving teenagers a place to explore, learn, develop and lead. Come to the show, support the teens, you'll be amazed by the talent. I'd much prefer that the kids hang up signs for a good cause and get excited about what they are doing. Passion - we should be thankful so many teenagers still have it! Let's try to give them more support and not criticize them. As a parent of one of them, I will help take down the signs and continue to support the Neutral Zone even when my child is not involved anymore.
AAJoker
Thu, May 13, 2010 : 4:10 p.m.
Rusty, I'm not sure what numbers or statistics you are using to quantify the term "few", please enlighten the rest of us as it appears over half the people that have posted on this article are against having "Brakin' Curfew" litter on public property. My data, some postings I ranked neutral and I have abbreviated names. For: Loka Rob Amelia Ann Woman Rusty Against: Lisa Duane Joker April Alan Burlington
AAJoker
Thu, May 13, 2010 : 11:11 a.m.
David, Why should we wait until after the show to remove the litter you have strewn around the city? Breakin' Curfew has a history of visual clutter and NO history of cleaning up after themselves, if you REALLY stand behind taking down these signs, then I would suggest you list this promise along with your name and contact information on each sign. The bigger question is why you feel entitled to plaster your message on public property? What permits/approvals did you obtain to perform this work? Did you even think about calling the City Codes office to understand if your actions are acceptable and what actions others are allowed to take in response?
David Shapiro
Thu, May 13, 2010 : 9:32 a.m.
if you're going to tear down the flyers, why not wait until after the show?
burlington
Wed, May 12, 2010 : 7:18 p.m.
We are townies who do not like the way Breakin Curfew teens plaster the city with ads. They set a bad example for others. It is much more than a few postings on campus and downtown. It is overkill and irresponsible. The flyers haven't come down after the show in previous years. Seeing will be believing this year.
AAJoker
Wed, May 12, 2010 : 7:11 p.m.
Whoever ripped these down missed some on Main Street, I guess I will have to get those myself. Breakin' Curfew doesn't post a couple of bills in the downtown area like the blind pig and others, instead they post 100s throughout the City including major thoroughfares of Miller, Maple, Liberty, Huron and others. People have every right to remove this litter, it's just too bad so many of you think this trashing of the town is acceptable.
Kent Jocque
Wed, May 12, 2010 : 9:58 a.m.
I saw someone cutting one of these flyers off a pole on Seventh Street a couple days ago and it struck me as odd. I thought maybe "Breakin' Curfew" had already come and gone but that didn't seem right. Man! It was like 7:30 in the morning! That guy must have woken up in a rage that morning and gone for the box cutter with a glint in his eye.
Alan Benard
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 10:50 p.m.
Did you know that Dick Dascola and the Main Street Association pay people to tear down fliers? It's their right, but it's pretty tacky. There is an ordinance, how about advising people hanging fliers to follow it, rather than being, um, unfriendly?
Alan Benard
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 10:48 p.m.
You must have heard the groan I released upon seeing your group's flyers yet again, followed by my prediction that the ones by Huron would stay up through next spring. I appreciate very much you taking responsibility for your fliers. By the way, the city ordinance concerning putting up fliers compels one to take down outdated fliers as you put up new ones. I hope you will pass this along to future years' organizers of Breaking Curfew.
AndyYpsilanti
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 7:33 p.m.
So my question is, are you all going to harass the Blind Pig, The Ark, and EVERY OTHER BAR, HOUSE SHOW, AND EVENT IN ANN ARBOR about the hundreds of fliers they post? How about ones that are sales fliers for apartments, books, websites, ACT courses, and just about every other business that is aimed at students? Naw, let's harass the Neutral Zone Kids, darn whippersnappers! Here in Ypsi, we just enforce the no posting ordinance. Seems to work pretty well. Personally, I think bill posting is good for business; it does make your city look vibrant and full of things to do. I kind of wish we had posting over here. But the point is, if you don't like it, start enforcing the law with every one.
The Picker
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 7:03 p.m.
Sign pollution, litter, I thought this was suppose to be the most environmentally conscious generation ever? Wouldn't E-signage and other electronic media be less polluting and reach more of the target market?
april
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 6:28 p.m.
There are Breakin Curfew flyers from years past- to 2005 and 2006- still hanging up. They are incredibly distracting and dated. A four- or five-year-old flyer for a one night event? Really? The kids who put up flyers should have been responsible for taking them down then, rather than letting the flyers degrade around the city. If you needed two trash bags of your flyers on your front step to understand that they are obnoxious and need to be taken down, you need to be more responsible and aware about your advertising method. Perhaps something should be done about the ridiculous amounts of trees that promoting Breakin Curfew seems to "necessitate". The excessive flyering turns me off to your event. And yes, I have been to it- several times.
AAJoker
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 6:26 p.m.
These fliers are actually against Ann Arbor ordinances, whoever took them down was saving you the chance to get fined on each and every one! e Rankin of City Ordinances (and excellent thing for AnnArbor.com to provide research one). You may feel the litter you have caused in the past years is "justified" by your cause, however I'm a supporter of whomever removed those signs (I removed over 100 fliers last year that you didn't clean up).
Woman in Ypsilanti
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 3:57 p.m.
@amlive Well said! I always thought that the rule was if you post a flier, you have to take down any other fliers on the pole or kiosk which have expired. I certainly have seen people putting up fliers who do that. I also once witnessed some people using some pretty heavy duty glue instead of staples to put up their fliers. I was kind of bitchy to them about it because the glue pretty much makes it impossible to remove the fliers. It turned out that the glue was a response to people taking down their fliers before the event. So I apologized to them and they were cool with that. But seriously, those darn fliers were on the posts for *months* because no one could remove them. They looked worse than just about anything while they were decomposing. So if you are a person who hates the fliers, just remember that tearing them down can end up making things worse. Just accept that people will post those kinds of fliers no matter what. Let those of us who still get our entertainment info that way continue to use light poles to inform us which bands are playing where. :)
Lokalisierung
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 2:20 p.m.
"Ignore them, and don't give it a second thought. They speak for the few and easily irritable," This should be the Annarbor.com comments section motto. I'm to the point now where I'm ready to spend a couple hundred bucks on flyers myself and put them up just to irratate these people.
amlive
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 1:49 p.m.
Don't let it bother you too much. There will always be some bitter old curmudgeons around town who see flyers and handbills as a nuisance, disturbing their fresh pretty paint and Rockwell-esque image of a nice clean and proper town. Ignore them, and don't give it a second thought. They speak for the few and easily irritable, but not for most of the people who live and come here for any bit of culture (or at least what remains of it for the time being, until agendas like those of the Main Street Business Association completely drives the artists out). You can have genuinely vibrant downtown culture and subcultures, or you can have gift shops and "Art" bike racks. I strongly prefer to preserve the former. Phone poles layered with months of flyers is a sign of at least a somewhat vibrant culture in a city, and I believe many more people here welcome than shun them. I think it's a beautiful thing, it's a very effective way of getting the word out around town, and we would be much for the worse without them. Keep flyering, and if you feel motivated, do your part to clean up a little now and then as well. It's worked this way for quite some time, and I think it works out just fine.
ameliajayne
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 1:38 p.m.
Way to go David! It's a good cause and its great to hear that you are acting responsibly! Also, ditto on the excellent use of rapscallion!
stillatownie
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 12:32 p.m.
I have heard of some cities combating excessive bill-posting by putting bright red "CANCELED" stickers on them. That said, who cares about some fliers? They will be torn down / covered up soon enough by fliers for NEW events.
Rob Pollard
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 11:57 a.m.
Points for correct use of "rapscallions." I say give them a chance this year to put them up AND then take them down. If the latter part doesn't happen, then proceed with Project Tear-down-immediately next year.
Lokalisierung
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 11:48 a.m.
They are planning to take them down. The point is people are ripping them down now, which will just cause them to put them back up.
Duane Collicott
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 11:38 a.m.
"And if you are concerned or annoyed by our flyers, we welcome you to come help us tear them down and clean them up on May 19th." You put them up, you take them down.
lisasimpson
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 11:33 a.m.
Last year, those posters were hanging for months after the event. I am certain the event organizers had to have seen them, as they were on every light pole down Washtenaw until they disintegrated. I can understand the residents' frustrations completely! I am glad to hear they will be cleaned up this year. It is a positive change and will set a good example for other sign-hangers, too! If they have the time to hang them, they have the time to tear them down. To the residents who are tearing them down before the event: how rude. Let's give these teens a chance to do better this year; but to sabotage the event is just childish.
Lokalisierung
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 11:20 a.m.
"from a couple of concerned Ann Arbor residents. Some have even gone so far as attempting to stop teens while flyering," You must be joking. Jesus Jose` Christ kids can't even put up some flyers in this town anymore?