Mallory And The Music Festival

Mark Mallory was all about the Macy's Music Festival. He touted it whenever he got the chance - at a meeting two weeks ago of local news media bosses, at his Tuesday news briefing, on The Buzz. It was important, he said repeatedly, to get the message out that downtown Cincinnati is safe, fun and welcoming to everyone. That latter part was a reference to some years past, when some African-Americans felt less than embraced by hotels and restaurants here. The festival was canceled for three years after the 2001 riots.


He reminisced about how, when he was younger, he would cruise around downtown in his car on "jazz fest" weekend.


So when it finally came, he put on his suit and worked it like a man out to prove it was the place to be. (Or maybe like a politician campaigning. Anyway....)


He stopped by vendors' booths, he asked restaurateurs how it was going, he gave keys to the city to performers. He went to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, which had more than 6,300 visitors - the organization's best day ever. He sent out a schedule of where he'd be and when.


He said Saturday that he'd run into a lot of folks from out of town. Some commented to him how polite Cincinnati police officers were - "I was happy to hear that," he said.