What happened to "TheBarge"?

[marty904]

So, as I attended the ribbon cutting of the new Southbank Riverwalk, I was quite surprised that a private entity had also somehow managed to "crash" the ribbon cutting, with a (combined) announcement of an amazing new (private) business/concept for Jacksonville - "TheBarge".

It promised to be the thing that was going to "take Jacksonville to the next level" and everyone was asked to tweet "YOTR" for "Year Of The River"... about the debut event  "Beer, Bourbon & Bacon" that was going to be on June 4-5-ish (2015).  Well, we're there... June 4 and I just discovered that now the inaugural event is not to happen until "Spring 2016".  I guess that just goes to show that simply throwing "Beer" and "Bacon" at something, does not mean it will be successful...

I'm mostly surprised and disappointed that the City of Jacksonville would endorse (and by allowing the announcement to happen during the Southbank Riverwalk ribbon cutting, they are endorsing it)... something like that, that they had not completely vetted to be a "real deal", "it's definitely going to happen" venture.

When you announce "the next big thing to hit Jax" during a ribbon-cutting, by the mayor, of another event... you better come through on what you're promising!  For me, Al Emerick just lost any and all credibility .  He did however, put on a good show, which is what he's good at, I guess...

Sorry, but the fact this was a "side-event" at the ribbon-cutting, I am holding this to a higher standard/expectation than I would if it was announced on it's own.  As an entrepreneur, I've started many ventures myself so I know that things don't always fall into place and delays happen... But when you "put on a pair" that big, to crash a city opening of a completely unrelated event, to announce your own private venture... you had better have your shit together!

[jaxjaguar]

It's really sad, but I've completely given up all hope on any new announcement ever coming to fruition in Jacksonville. I refuse to believe anything will happen as planned until I see it's 100% completed and open to the public. The barge is just another one of those indefinitely delayed projects to add to the list. Maybe 4-5 years from now someone will reclaim land from the river in that spot and call it "the barge".

Until then it's best to just laugh at the next crazy person with an idea for downtown.

[Murder_me_Rachel]

So, as I attended the ribbon cutting of the new Southbank Riverwalk, I was quite surprised that a private entity had also somehow managed to "crash" the ribbon cutting, with a (combined) announcement of an amazing new (private) business/concept for Jacksonville - "TheBarge".

It promised to be the thing that was going to "take Jacksonville to the next level" and everyone was asked to tweet "YOTR" for "Year Of The River"... about the debut event  "Beer, Bourbon & Bacon" that was going to be on June 4-5-ish (2015).  Well, we're there... June 4 and I just discovered that now the inaugural event is not to happen until "Spring 2016".  I guess that just goes to show that simply throwing "Beer" and "Bacon" at something, does not mean it will be successful...

I'm mostly surprised and disappointed that the City of Jacksonville would endorse (and by allowing the announcement to happen during the Southbank Riverwalk ribbon cutting, they are endorsing it)... something like that, that they had not completely vetted to be a "real deal", "it's definitely going to happen" venture.

When you announce "the next big thing to hit Jax" during a ribbon-cutting, by the mayor, of another event... you better come through on what you're promising!  For me, Al Emerick just lost any and all credibility .  He did however, put on a good show, which is what he's good at, I guess...

Sorry, but the fact this was a "side-event" at the ribbon-cutting, I am holding this to a higher standard/expectation than I would if it was announced on it's own.  As an entrepreneur, I've started many ventures myself so I know that things don't always fall into place and delays happen... But when you "put on a pair" that big, to crash a city opening of a completely unrelated event, to announce your own private venture... you had better have your shit together!

Well, I said much the same thing at the time and everyone vilified me as a hating shit talker. But, i knew in the end I would be vindicated because I know that one half of the duo responsible for this idea is a total charlatan.  This individual wormed his way into ingratiating himself with One Spark and, because of the downtown circle jerk, no one has the stones to call him out on his obvious BS and all the ways his boasts never come to fruition. I eagerly await Spring 2016.

[Captain Zissou]

I spoke with Al about this the other day and he said that the scope has increased from what he initially thought the project needed.  They initially thought it could be a pop up event space, but they have been contacted by a number of entities for private events.  They are going to have to get more significant permitting for the project to go forward.  They obviously should have provided an update after they decided to change course, but it sounds like the thing isn't dead for now.

[ProjectMaximus]

So, as I attended the ribbon cutting of the new Southbank Riverwalk, I was quite surprised that a private entity had also somehow managed to "crash" the ribbon cutting, with a (combined) announcement of an amazing new (private) business/concept for Jacksonville - "TheBarge".

It promised to be the thing that was going to "take Jacksonville to the next level" and everyone was asked to tweet "YOTR" for "Year Of The River"... about the debut event  "Beer, Bourbon & Bacon" that was going to be on June 4-5-ish (2015).  Well, we're there... June 4 and I just discovered that now the inaugural event is not to happen until "Spring 2016".  I guess that just goes to show that simply throwing "Beer" and "Bacon" at something, does not mean it will be successful...

I'm mostly surprised and disappointed that the City of Jacksonville would endorse (and by allowing the announcement to happen during the Southbank Riverwalk ribbon cutting, they are endorsing it)... something like that, that they had not completely vetted to be a "real deal", "it's definitely going to happen" venture.

When you announce "the next big thing to hit Jax" during a ribbon-cutting, by the mayor, of another event... you better come through on what you're promising!  For me, Al Emerick just lost any and all credibility .  He did however, put on a good show, which is what he's good at, I guess...

Sorry, but the fact this was a "side-event" at the ribbon-cutting, I am holding this to a higher standard/expectation than I would if it was announced on it's own.  As an entrepreneur, I've started many ventures myself so I know that things don't always fall into place and delays happen... But when you "put on a pair" that big, to crash a city opening of a completely unrelated event, to announce your own private venture... you had better have your shit together!

Well, I said much the same thing at the time and everyone vilified me as a hating shit talker. But, i knew in the end I would be vindicated because I know that one half of the duo responsible for this idea is a total charlatan.  This individual wormed his way into ingratiating himself with One Spark and, because of the downtown circle jerk, no one has the stones to call him out on his obvious BS and all the ways his boasts never come to fruition. I eagerly await Spring 2016.

You didnt say anything similar to this. You just insulted people who like bacon or try to be hip. In the end you were rightful with your skepticism, but nobody challenged that anyway.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,23784.0.html

[Adam White]

So, as I attended the ribbon cutting of the new Southbank Riverwalk, I was quite surprised that a private entity had also somehow managed to "crash" the ribbon cutting, with a (combined) announcement of an amazing new (private) business/concept for Jacksonville - "TheBarge".

It promised to be the thing that was going to "take Jacksonville to the next level" and everyone was asked to tweet "YOTR" for "Year Of The River"... about the debut event  "Beer, Bourbon & Bacon" that was going to be on June 4-5-ish (2015).  Well, we're there... June 4 and I just discovered that now the inaugural event is not to happen until "Spring 2016".  I guess that just goes to show that simply throwing "Beer" and "Bacon" at something, does not mean it will be successful...

I'm mostly surprised and disappointed that the City of Jacksonville would endorse (and by allowing the announcement to happen during the Southbank Riverwalk ribbon cutting, they are endorsing it)... something like that, that they had not completely vetted to be a "real deal", "it's definitely going to happen" venture.

When you announce "the next big thing to hit Jax" during a ribbon-cutting, by the mayor, of another event... you better come through on what you're promising!  For me, Al Emerick just lost any and all credibility .  He did however, put on a good show, which is what he's good at, I guess...

Sorry, but the fact this was a "side-event" at the ribbon-cutting, I am holding this to a higher standard/expectation than I would if it was announced on it's own.  As an entrepreneur, I've started many ventures myself so I know that things don't always fall into place and delays happen... But when you "put on a pair" that big, to crash a city opening of a completely unrelated event, to announce your own private venture... you had better have your shit together!

Well, I said much the same thing at the time and everyone vilified me as a hating shit talker. But, i knew in the end I would be vindicated because I know that one half of the duo responsible for this idea is a total charlatan.  This individual wormed his way into ingratiating himself with One Spark and, because of the downtown circle jerk, no one has the stones to call him out on his obvious BS and all the ways his boasts never come to fruition. I eagerly await Spring 2016.

Do you get paid based on the number of times you post the words "circle jerk"?

[Murder_me_Rachel]

I spoke with Al about this the other day and he said that the scope has increased from what he initially thought the project needed.  They initially thought it could be a pop up event space, but they have been contacted by a number of entities for private events.  They are going to have to get more significant permitting for the project to go forward.  They obviously should have provided an update after they decided to change course, but it sounds like the thing isn't dead for now.

I'll eat a pound of butter if one half of what that guy says comes true.

Do you get paid based on the number of times you post the words "circle jerk"?

Ok...how about "human centipede of circular reasoning and support"?

[marty904]

I'm still scratching my head as to how it got worked into the riverwalk ribbon-cutting. Has a barge even been acquired? Being held up on permitting, well that just exposes poor business traits of not doing due diligence before a public announcement on a "big stage"... Sounds like excuses to me though.  So the "bacon-fest"... was that event canceled due to no barge or was the event to be produced by Al & Company? I mean, was there an actual event company/producer that was going to do that event on the barge or was it a production (by and for) the barge, to be produced by Al?

Eh, I'm having to learn that this seems to be par for the course here in Jax...

[PeeJayEss]

The Barge people have been keeping people updated about their plans. They sent out an update less than a month ago about the status of the project, and they blasted it all over social media. If you didn't see it, it's not on them:
http://us10.campaign-archive2.com/?u=2b3f217209b06d79f725c742d&id=aaf4d414d9

Whether this project comes to fruition or not (which I suspect it will, it will just be more for-profit than non-profit), they're still getting more done than anyone is by whining about the pace of development. As they say, haters gonna hate.

[JaxJersey-licious]

I can't bellieve a whole lot of people can get so upset because some loud-mouthed self-promoter promised the kewlest of all kewl festivals was going to take place on some magical floating lifeforce in less than 3 months and, surprise, it's postponed. Traditionally, Jacksonville has had some really great cultural events that brought loads of people downtown that have flourished or vanished.

Remember the Jacksonville Film Festival a decade ago? In a city with a paucity of independent films the festival was such a breath of fresh air. And people flocked to the Florida Theatre, MOCA, San Marco, and The Ritz to get exposed to something cultural, entertaining, and relevant - and what the hell happened to that? And on the other hand we have OneSpark and regardless of what one thinks of it's overall relevance and importance, the support it gets from the community has wildly exceeded everyone's expectations.

So who am I to judge the necessity, hipness, or success of Porkbelly...Cheeseballs...Flotsam...Slam...or whatever the hell this event ends up being monickered. Seriously, I hope as another poster pointed out that the organizer just needs to get his permitting and shit together to make sure this event doesn't flop. Maybe it becomes a regular thing that gets some buzz and would make for a quirky regional day-trip for folks to check out our fair city.

You never know...

[Noone]

Does Putnam county know about this?

Port Task Force meeting 15 days out.

[Charles Hunter]

Interesting, some of us attending the River Reflections just the other evening.  None of us knew what happened.  Thanks for the update.

[tufsu1]

I spoke with Al about this the other day and he said that the scope has increased from what he initially thought the project needed.  They initially thought it could be a pop up event space, but they have been contacted by a number of entities for private events.  They are going to have to get more significant permitting for the project to go forward.  They obviously should have provided an update after they decided to change course, but it sounds like the thing isn't dead for now.

I'll eat a pound of butter if one half of what that guy says comes true.

better start shopping now...because Al has a track record of making stuff happen!

[Houseboat Mike]

I spoke with Al about this the other day and he said that the scope has increased from what he initially thought the project needed.  They initially thought it could be a pop up event space, but they have been contacted by a number of entities for private events.  They are going to have to get more significant permitting for the project to go forward.  They obviously should have provided an update after they decided to change course, but it sounds like the thing isn't dead for now.

I'll eat a pound of butter if one half of what that guy says comes true.

better start shopping now...because Al has a track record of making stuff happen!

Add about 7 pounds of crablegs and I will eat a pound of butter.....

[Murder_me_Rachel]

I spoke with Al about this the other day and he said that the scope has increased from what he initially thought the project needed.  They initially thought it could be a pop up event space, but they have been contacted by a number of entities for private events.  They are going to have to get more significant permitting for the project to go forward.  They obviously should have provided an update after they decided to change course, but it sounds like the thing isn't dead for now.

I'll eat a pound of butter if one half of what that guy says comes true.

better start shopping now...because Al has a track record of making stuff happen!

HAHAHAHAHA, thanks for the the laugh. Great way to start a Friday.