"Footloose" bylaw to be re-evaluated

Did pro-dance demonstration soften City Hall's position on raves?

Publication title: Vue Weekly
Page(s): 6, 11
Publication date: June 28, 2001
Document type: Article
Article author: Phil Duperron
Transcribed by: MW


Edmontonians are free to dance as late as they want—at least for now.

On Tuesday, city council sent the controversial "rave" bylaw back to executive committee, to be discussed on August 22 at 1:30 p.m. The delay will give the city a chance to identify enforcement issues, especially those that exist outside the clubs (such as graffiti and noise); investigate what other cities like Calgary and Toronto have done to regulate all-night dance events (including the possibility of creating entertainment zones within the city); and consider separate approaches to dealing with one-time events and ongoing dance clubs. Although Mayor Bill Smith was frustrated by the amount of time council has taken to deal with the matter (the issue first arose more than a year ago), he said it is important they take the extra time to come up with a solution that will be "effective and won't infringe on people's rights."

Concert promoter Gary-McGowan was one of many people prepared to speak to council about the bylaw, but he and the others will have to wait until the upcoming executive council meeting. McGowan, who represents B.A.D. Concerts, a local company that puts on all-ages events featuring live bands, welcomed council's decision to re-evaluate the June 6 amendments to the original bylaw, which included a "Cinderella clause" that would have required anyone under 18 to vacate dance events at midnight. McGowan said this “captured non-rave and non-dance events in the net [with raves]." Not only, McGowan said, would this policy have damaged Edmonton's reputation as a festival city, but it would have also had a negative impact on 80 per cent of B.A.D.'s business, possibly rendering it no longer viable. Under the letter of the law, a mixed show at Red's where half the crowd were minors would either have to shut down at midnight or separate the crowd into over-18s and under-18s. Even the Folk Fest, one of Edmonton's best-known live music events, where minors mix freely with adults, would have run afoul of the proposed amendments.




Free to be, you and E

But most of the grassroots opposition to the bylaw came from Edmonton's dance community, who felt the legislation was unfairly aimed at cracking down on their own misunderstood subculture. Their argument certainly has merit: everyone knows the police wouldn't come down to the Folk Fest and start kicking kids out at midnight. As long as it's folk music and the drugs of choice are smuggled-in wine and marijuana, it seems, it's at right, but if the music is electronic and the intoxicants are in pill form, the authorities must be called in.

We'll never know if Sunday's protest in front of City Hall, organized by the Right to Dance Coalition, had an effect on council's decision, but by all accounts it was a raving success. At least 1,200 people of all ages showed up to voice their opposition to the bylaw, dance the sunny afternoon away to the thumping sounds of local and out-of-town DJs and cool their heels in the pool while they could before the city drains it and installs a cafe. (Meanwhile, a petition urging the city to kill the amendments obtained a whopping 4,470 signatures.) Veteran members of Edmonton's dance community, showing off multi-coloured costumes and hair were the most visible participants, but plenty of middle-aged folks were

SEE PAGE 11


Photo Caption: Land of the free, home of the rave: pro-dance protesters swarm City Hall


Rave bylaw

Continued from page 6

there as well, taking their first cautious and awkward steps to the music that to many other older people find so frightening and dangerous that they are trying to regulate It out of existence.

Whether Councillor Robert Noce underwent a real change of heart (he sits on the executive committee that added the Cinderella clause as well as the 3 a.m. closing time to the bylaw) or simply made a shrewd political decision to ally himself with young voters for his upcoming battle with Bill Smith, he is, as the youngest member of council, at least acting his age. Noce was present at the protest, shaking his booty to the music and, later, voicing some positive sentiments about the demonstration and the dance community at large.

"[I am) absolutely thrilled," he said, "to see so many people in front of City Hall rallying for a united goal," adding that the executive council was "too quick" in adding the amendments and made a mistake lumping one-time events together with after hours dance clubs. "It was never my intention," he said, "to eliminate all-night dancing in Edmonton. I enjoy the music and understand why people want to go to these events. I don't want to take that away."

British spinner DJ Rap was also on hand to express her views on the situation. She told the crowd how London experienced similar difficulties as Edmonton before a compromise between lawmakers and fun-seekers could be found. She blamed "fear and ignorance" for the reactionary approach of the city, reminding everyone how legal cigarettes and alcohol kill far more people every year than the dance culture. Rap called for "discussion, understanding and enlightenment" on all sides in order to come up with a "win-win situation."


Rap vs. Richards

Not everyone on hand thought the bylaw was going too far. Constable Mike Richards of the Edmonton Police Service said he supports the amended bylaw because it gives the police the tools they need to deal with the negative aspects of rave culture, like drugs, violence and noise. "I'm not going to paint every-one with the same brush or say everyone is on drugs," Richards said, but he does claim to have seen first-hand the problems that come with all-night dancing—problems, he said, that warrant a 3 a.m. closing time and other restrictions.

Todd Rarnsum, 19, is an active member of the rave community, which he says is, "way more of a dance culture than a drug culture." He doesn't believe a bylaw is capable of ending the vibrant night life that has built up in Edmonton. "They can't stop the dancing," Ramsum said. "Even if they shut down the clubs, the drugs are still going to be there. It's all going to go underground where it will cause more problems."

Mimi Williams is running for city council in Ward 2 in the upcoming municipal election. She spoke at the rally as a concerned parent, arguing the city needs more responsible parents, not restrictive laws, to protect children. If parents can't keep their own children from going to all-night dances, she asked, how will a bylaw protect them? “I'd rather be pulling my kid out of a club than a car crash because they went to a bush party," Williams said.


Mikey likes it

Mike Peebles of Edmonton RaveSafe helped organize the rally in hopes of showing people they have little to fear from throbbing music and kids in Day-Glo fun-fur pants. "I think we raised public awareness as well as council's awareness," said Peebles. "People felt they were part of something." Peebles acknowledged the need for raves to be governed by some system of regulations to ensure a safe environment without interfering with other businesses—concerns the original bylaw addressed before the Cinderella clause and mandatory 3 a.m. closing time were added.

Today's youth are often accused of being apathetic and lazy, but as Sunday's demonstration showed, they are more than prepared to spit out their pacifiers and whistles and mobilize themselves when their culture is threatened. It remains to be seen what the August 22 discussions will yield, but the ravers won't go out quietly—and with the municipal election looming, people are listening.