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The 2007 Avenues Street Fair will be held on Saturday, September 8th along 2nd Avenue between I and N Streets. Started in the 1970s as more of a home tour event, the Avenues Street Fair has evolved into a true street fair and one of Utah’s premier community celebrations. An estimated 10,000 people attend each year. This year approximately 200 venders will have booths while a dozen or more entertainers will perform during the day at one of the two stages which delineate the east and west boundaries of the Street Fair’s route. As in the past several years, a Children’s Parade will inaugurate the day’s activities. All children (and their pets!) are welcome to participate. The parade opens the Fair at 2nd Avenue and N Street at 9:00 a.m., traveling west along 2nd Avenue to I Street. Musical entertainment begins at 10:00 a.m. and lasts until 6:00 p.m. The street is closed for the day to vehicle traffic, and attendees will enjoy the wonderful Fair atmosphere. Each year the Avenues Street Fair is held on a different street to highlight the unique architecture of the Avenues neighborhoods. Many of the homes along this year’s route on 2nd Avenue are large two-story Victorian residences and are contributing structures to the Avenues Historic District. The Street Fair Committee of the Greater Avenues Community Council began early this year to plan the 2007 Fair. As of this writing, not all arrangements have been finalized. We do know that some of the special features of the Fair include the sale of Avenues Street Fair t-shirts created by local artist Pilar Pobil (the proceeds of which are used for community service projects by the Avenues Community Council); a children’s activities area and special entertainment geared toward youth; several working artists who will demonstrate their skills and create art before our eyes; the LDS Hospital’s LifeFlight helicopter will be on display: a People’s Art Gallery where anyone can submit their own art for sale, judging and prize awards; and an assortment of food booths and commercial vendors selling locally manufactured arts and crafts. Since there is an important municipal election on September 12, 2007, most of the candidates for Salt Lake City’s Mayor and City Council races will have booths. In addition, local service organizations will have information booths while LDS Hospital and Salt Lake Regional Hospital will provide first aid stations and health information and screenings. Jan Bird and Ruth Morgan are the street fair’s co-chairwomen this year. They have held monthly planning meetings since early this year, organizing the extensive amount of work that needs to be completed before September 8th Assisting the co-chairs are more than twenty-five volunteers who perform a myriad of duties including arranging for city permits and insurance coverage, managing booth and entertainment applications, finding volunteers to work at the fair itself, conducting the fair’s publicity campaign, seeking electrical power and water from neighbors along the fair’s route, and arranging for sanitary facilities and refuse removal at the Fair. To guide the overall organization of the Avenues Street Fair, Michael Hughes, chairman of the Greater Avenues Community Council along with Jan Bird, Ruth Morgan and Walter Jones (last years fair coordinator) met this spring to create a mission statement. This statement reads, “The Avenues Street Fair is an annual one-day celebration held to highlight the unique character of the Avenues community including the arts, businesses, culture, eclectic architecture, history, and residents. Further, the Avenues Street Fair provides opportunities for interpersonal and multi-community relationships.” Key people to contact for information about the street fair include co-chairwomen Jan Bird (jan.bird@intermountainmail.org and 408-3229 [work]) and Ruth Morgan (rmorgan1244@comcast.net and 359-8539 [home]), booth coordinators Ann and David Tillson (atillson@xmission.com and 580-9580 [cell]), volunteer coordinators Heather Knowlton (hknowlt@utah.gov and 259-0236) and Jenny Hewson (j.hewson@conservation.org and 359-0307 [home]), and t-shirt, poster, and People’s Art Gallery chairwoman Evelyn Bossart (eBossart@comcast.net and 231-5183 [cell]). Comments and suggestions for future Avenues Street Fair planning can go to Michael Hughes, current GACC chairman at hesmichael@comcast.net or 859-5858 [cell}. The Street Fair committee is still accepting volunteers for this year’s Fair. Please use the contact information above, or plan to be part of the 2008 Street Fair Committee. We look forward to seeing everyone on September 8th for another exciting Avenues Street Fair. Walter Jones East Stage – 2nd Ave at N Street Return to Home Page Return to top of this page
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