mission freak!

If you live in or around the Iowa City area, we’re willing to bet you’re familiar with a proposed City Ordinance on the ballot this year that would block anyone under 21 years old from entering establishments that serve alcohol.

There are plenty of reasons why this ordinance is a terrible idea, and the anti-21 ordinance group Bloc21 has a good rundown of some of them on their website if you’re curious.

The biggest problem with the ordinance for those of us at Mission Creek, and for anyone who appreciates live music, is that a 21+ entry requirement will have a chilling effect on local music in Iowa City. If the ordinance passes, thousands of music lovers in Eastern Iowa will be turned away from seeing their favorite bands, hundreds of musicians will be without a stage to perform, and an unforeseeable number of artists will pass over Iowa City and perform elsewhere.

Every live music venue in Iowa City as well as our locally based Mission Creek Festival depends on the support of music fans that are under 21 years old. The current 19+ standard already ties our hands by limiting the number of “all ages” shows we can have—raising the age to 21+ will narrow our potential audience even more. Mission Creek relies primarily on door sales to pay the bands we bring in, so smaller crowds will prevent us from bringing in the bands you (or your children) want to see and force us to downsize our roster of bands for future festivals. In addition, we will no longer be able to give opportunities to some of the talented and energetic bands (such as Lipstick Homicide) who are under 21.

But why is it even important to keep music venues or festivals in mind? Well, music is one of the best alternatives to night-life scenes that base themselves primarily around drinking. The venues, the festivals, and the bands offer an art-based outlet for growing minds. If attractive non-drinking options are curbed, it’s very likely that underage citizens will pursue illegal drinking opportunities rather than staying home to stare at the walls.

Some supporters of the 21+ ordinance subscribe to the belief that underage drinking, something that happens in most regions of the United States, will be stopped by this legislation. But ultimately, passing this ordinance will result in more of the underage drinking behavior that the 21+ supporters seek to eradicate and it will push these underage drinkers into less safe environments like un-regulated house parties. Clubs, like the Picador, are very good at identifying and hand-marking its legal drinking age patrons differently than its underage patrons, effectively seeing to it that while everybody enjoys the show, only the appropriate customers are served alcoholic beverages.

If you are concerned with supporting an arts-based, non-underage drinking culture in Iowa City – in this case the local music scene – then we implore you to get off the couch, get some fresh air, and take 15 minutes out of your day to vote NO on the 21+ ordinance TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6th. If you’re not registered to vote in Iowa City, you’re out of luck…but if you are, check your Voter Registration card or go to the Johnson County Auditor website to find your polling place. If the search function doesn’t work on your computer, call the Auditor’s office at 319-356-6004. Voting is open from 7 AM to 8 PM tomorrow, be sure to bring Photo ID and your Voter Registration card with you (if you have it).

City Council members are also up for re-election. Mission Creek wholeheartedly supports Matt Hayek and the other anti-21 candidates (Regenia Bailey and Terry Smith), but we encourage you to do some outside research if you want to make a truly informed vote. Record turnout is expected, so don’t be discouraged if you have to wait a few minutes (especially if you go before 9am or after 5pm). Every vote is crucial in a city election, and this one is sure to be exceptionally close.

Thanks for reading…and now, back to the music.