The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

The 10,000 Arts party was fun, but seemed disjointed. I didn't even know about the Voltage Fashion preview on Northrop's stage until it was nearly over. It was in the far corner, backstage almost, and kind of hidden. Seemed the event lacked interior signage or people to steer the crowd to the different happenings that were taking place in the cavernous space. The event was advertised to take place from 7-10 pm in one spot in the Rake's site, then it noted 7:30 pm in another place. Long lines formed at the cheese and fruit vendor, but seemed after 8 pm, all the vendors packed up and went home. It gave the signal that the event was over, so my friends and I took off. I felt bad, as I spotted Scott Matteo playing flamenco guitar to a vary sparse crowd in the auditorium. Hey, it was free, so really, I thank you for providing the swell swag bag and a chance to run into friends in the arts. I just wanted the event to get people really pumped up about going to check out future arts events, which I'm not sure it really did. Seemed people were mostly concerned about eating and drinking, as it was a post-work sort of affair and people needed their nourishment and beverages -- can't blame 'em as it was one of the most frigid nights of the year. As far as future Rake events, I think you'd fare better in a smaller space and ditching the VIP table. That seemed to hold up the line and name tags were scattered about, difficult to find. Just some suggestions, take it for whatever it's worth.