AAN 2018 experience: a recollection

“All good. That’s crazy. My shift ended early.”

That text message ended a modicum of worry as my teenage son reported he escaped unharmed an Art All Night mass shooting.

He did not even know about the unfortunate mass shooting which occurred about minutes after he left the premises.

The son had volunteered with handling stage acts inside Roebling Wire Works on South Clinton Ave.

The son looked more beautiful when he joined his adoring sister, myself and a woman friend for a Father’s Day breakfast. No bullet holes or bruises for him or many others in attendance although emotional scars exist for many.

My woman friend had accompanied me to Art All Night as we continued a tradition that employs a desire to be in the crowd and eye art productions. We had a light dinner at Trentini’s Restaurant in Roebling Market then entered the expansive art gallery inside the old Roebling Wire Works structure.

Nothing seemed different regarding the crowd, predominantly Caucasian which continued a disappointing theme that African Americans and Latinos detach from such events. We made our usual rounds which took almost two hours as pauses in front of interesting art and conversations with other guests made time pass quickly.

Two police officers monitored an inside crowd as we shared a joke that after years of complaints, Trenton had cops walking a beat.

There were two police officers, not 10, no major police presence as some have suggested. What occurred after we left the premises at 10:45, is a topic for others’ recollections.

An awakening came around 10 p.m. as we headed outside. A pungent smell of marijuana hung in the air and despite a likely Garden State move toward recreational use of weed, it’s still not legal.

It’s the first time we could recall marijuana being smoked at Art All Night. By the way, everyone does not support marijuana legalization.

Outside delivered an increased number of young African American teens and young adults. Think back to your teen life. Yeah, teens, whether they live in suburban or urban areas, need supervision.

Mind you, these insights serve as observations only not as any sociological supported by statistics or studies.

We talked about the Facebook post offered by Danielle Grady, an alert that trumpeted people should not attend Art All Night because people were going to shoot up the event. Teens chase trouble and the excitement of danger. Had they seen the warning on social media sights?

We bought a Coca-Cola from Trentini’s which had locked up precisely at 10 p.m. then purchased our first AAN shirt.

We headed home and talked about another fantastic Art All Night event, happy that Trenton had another successful night.

Our Art All Night ritual includes returning early Sunday morning for an almost private showing. We returned to witness police, television crews and enough yellow caution tape for Bulgarian artist Christo Yavacheff and French artist JeanneClaude to wrap Trenton Wire Works.

We spoke with Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri and Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson then left disappointed, aware that this city with incredible potential had suffered another serious setback.

One dead, many wounded and some injured in the Art All Night shootout.

Tune in at 11.

L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist.