Lower Haight Festival Proposal

[Left Field Enterprises]

Dear Neighbors,

The Lower Haight Merchants Association would like to host a Festival on
Sunday October 22, 2006 from 11am to 6pm on Haight Street between
Filmore and Pierce. The merchants have asked me to present the
Festival proposal to the city and organize the event if approved. If
any of you are familiar with the Heart of Cole Festival in Cole Valley
on Cole between Carl and Grattan, I have organized that Festival the
past three years, with the fourth event coming September 24th.

The Lower Haight Festival would feature live music, events for families
and children, and reasonably-priced booths to accommodate local and
emerging artists. This would be a juried festival of art and fine
craft, it is not first come first serve, and imports would not be
considered. The event would not have alcohol booths, and food booths,
if any, would be the choice of the existing restaurants in the confines
of the Festival.

The layout of the Festival would be as follows:

1) Artist booths or areas would by 10x10 spaces up against the sidewalk
curbs on north and south sides, keeping the center street area open.
2) The stage for live music would be near Filmore. Either 5 or 6 bands
would play.
3) A "bouncy thing" for kids would be off the intersection of Haight
and Steiner, south side (not blocking center). This intersection would
be the primary area for balloon artists, face painters, child related
art and various performers, for example from the San Francisco Circus
Centre which may include stilt walkers, slight of hand magicians and
more.
4) Barricades would be placed at Filmore and Haight, Pierce and Haight,
Steiner south side above the alley, and Steiner north side about half
way up.

The main concerns that have been expressed are security, public
drinking, parking, insurance and clean-up, which are common concerns
and can all be handled. I have discussed security with officer Mike
Nylan from Park Station who would be my primary contact again. Besides
standard police officials, we would have many neighborhood volunteers
(48 at last count) to help monitor various areas during the Festival.
We have discussed public drinking and officer Nylan is confident this
will be manageable especially due to the type and style of Festival we
are proposing.

As far as parking, it is my personal philosophy as an event organizer
(not required by the city) that we should do everything in our power to
find parking options for those residents whose garages will be blocked
by artist booths. John Muir Elementary School on Page and Webster is a
primary candidate to donate their very large school yard during the day
of the event, and of course the entrance would be monitored by an
officer. In return, we would donate space to the school for the kids to
sell baked goods and other items to help raise money for their after
school program. Their is a similar arrangement in Cole Valley and it is
very successful for all. We have more options if we would need
additional monitored parking.

All street events are insured and I would be more than happy to email
the certificate of insurance when ready. Clean up after the close of
the Festival would start promptly at 6:45 or before and is very quick
which is handled by Sunset Scavenger. Sunset Scavenger also places many
extra trash cans and recycling bins the morning of the event, which is
also mandatory and emptied throughout the day. Medical presence as in a
first aid booth is also mandatory at all street events, which would
include King America Ambulance Co., the fire department or both. The
fire department has offered to park a fire truck for the kids, which
has been a great success in the past (Cole Valley). The fire truck
could be parked on the north side of Steiner off the center of Haight
inside the barricades. Their are more specific details to address which
I will do if this moves forward.

The proposal for street closure is presented at the ISCOTT hearing on
June 22, at 9am located at 1 South Van Ness on the 7th floor. If any of
you would like to attend, you are welcome to. Public notices will be
posted by the DPT around the neighborhood a week prior to the hearing.
The room is not very large so it would probably be best to send some
neighborhood representatives.

If the Festival is approved, I would begin the process of notifying
artists with calls for entries, confirming musical acts, contacting the
various city departments etc.... I would be more than happy to email
frequent updated lists of artists web sites as they are confirmed so
you could see the festival style take shape, which I would also do with
the confirmed musicians and other attractions. If any of you would like
to assist during the Festival, please let me know.

The festival would be sponsored in part by the Lower Haight Street
Merchants Association: "a neighborhood organization whose purpose is to
develop and maintain a thriving business environment within our
membership area. We seek to provide a safe, clean and supportive
atmosphere where businesses can thrive, working closely with city and
state government agencies, community-based organizations and
neighborhood residents."

In conclusion, the Neighborhood and Merchants Associations are working
hard to improve the Lower Haight in many positive ways. A Lower Haight
Festival would not only help to raise money for various safety and
beautification needs, but also bring business to the local merchants
and unite the community together through art and music. Please email me
with any questions and/or concerns you have and I assure you they will
all be addressed and brought to the attention of the ISCOTT members on
June 22nd.

Thank you,

Lori Elder
Festival Coordinator
500 Block of Haight

Kathleen Maley
Advisor, Arts & Crafts Committee

Festival contact information / mailing address:
The Best of Lower Haight Festival
475 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Ph: (415) 577-5950 Fax : (415) 738-7905
Email: lowerhaig...@yahoo.com

[Evan Matteo]

Thanks, Lori, for the info.

Can you give folks an idea of the flavor of artists
you are hoping to attract, as well as the total number
of booths? This will probably help build our
interest, and also help us understand the scale.

On parking, my understanding is that the streets would
be blocked from 8am (setup) until 7:30pm (end of
cleanup). We would need to move our cars in the early
am to take advantage of the offsite lot and would have
a wider window of time in the evening to retrieve our
cars, after the streets are re-opened. Is this
correct?

--- Left Field Enterprises
<lo...@leftfieldenterprises.com> wrote:

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[Sanjay Katyal]

Hello Lori,

 

I commend your enthusiasm for organizing this event.  I am delighted our neighborhood, in keeping with our eclectic mix, has keen interest in hosting an event focused on art and fine craft.   My prior email to you with my concerns has not received a response. I mean no disrespect for your desire to have this fair on the 600 block -- it makes me feel proud. However, I continue to have the same concerns I did several weeks ago when you first wrote to Evan (and copied the rest of 600 block residents.)

 

This fair which has clear benefits on increasing foot traffic for merchants as it will attract people from all over the city, and potentially suburbs.  Being good for commerce is great reason you have the support of the Lower Haight Merchant association.  However, I remain concerned about the impact of this fair to the 600 block for the following three reasons:  

 

1. This event cannot be evaluated as a block party -- rather, it is a Main Street, USA type of fair with unique implications for homeowners/residents.

 

Given your proposed scale, wide range of target visitors and all-day nature, I do not consider this event a limited block party that is only open to concerned caring residents and merchants on the hosting block. To me, it is more like a Main Street USA commercial event.  The 600 block, therefore, cannot be entirely represented by the Merchants association.  Instead, it can only be represented by individual homeowners and merchants.

 

 

2. Why is the 400 block not a better option than the 600 block for this event? 

 

A. The 400 block merchants would really stand to benefit from the foot traffic and the beautification. 

B. It would provide our police a great reason to greater foot patrols and needed overage for that block

C. The event could prove pivotal in addressing our most pressing community needs Supervisor Mirkarimi supports with us to improve the integration, appeal and safety of the 400 and 500 blocks

 

 

3. How are the 600 block homeowners protected from the potential ill-effects (mis-conduct, vandalism, accidents, injuries) and related litigation?

 

Merchants understandably set up business to attract foot traffic but need to carry liability insurance.  But homeowners such myself do not carry liability insurance to protect against heavy foot traffic.  If someone gets injured on a home-owner's front steps can you guarantee the insurance the fair would carry covers any and all liabilities -- and does not expose the homeowners in ANY way? 

 

Thank you for addressing my questions. 

SanjayK

 

Left Field Enterprises <lo...@leftfieldenterprises.com> wrote:

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[Left Field Enterprises]

Hello Evan,

Below are links to some of the artists that do the Heart of Cole
Festival, many of the artists below have said they would be able to
participate in the Lower Haight Festival if approved. The links below
are a good examples of what the style of the LH Festival would be like.
We have a lot of artists in the lower Haight, and priority will be
given to them if they are juried in. Every neighborhood has its own
unique style of Festival and I feel it is important for the lower
Haight to reflect that as well. Their would be approximately 100 artist
spaces but I will know more once we measure Haight between Steiner and
Filmore.

I cannot give you a specific answer yet on the parking time frames for
the donated areas, or the exact time cars would need to be moved that
morning, but as soon as I do have more information I will email that to
everyone.

Lori

Links to Artists:

CLOTHING and ACCESSORIES
Yugala, http://www.saffronrarethreads.com
Kimbaa, Kim Takayesu / http://www.kimbaa.com
Janine Hunn, http://www.jixiki.com
Janine Marie, Janine Morales / http://www.janine-marie.com
Cookie and The Dude, Helen Fawcett / http://www.cookieandthedude.com
Vaska by Annica, Annica Magnusson / http://www.vaska.biz
Booty Boutique, Kyra Brown / http://www.bootyboutique.com
Jak Designs, Jennifer Armstrong / http://www.jakdesigns.com
Slainte Bags, Jill Bornemann / http://www.slaintebags.com
Zoe / http://www.zoebikini.com

MISCELLANEOUS AND GIFT
Bug Under Glass / Kevin Clark http://www.bugunderglass.com
Rick Jones, Paper Cuts / http://www.papercuts.us
Mark Ulriksen / Prints, Paintings, Cards, http://www.markulriksen.com
Shimmy’s Beach, Phylis Johnson / http://www.shimmysbeach.biz
Nature in the City / http://www.natureinthecity.org

CERAMICS
Jacqueline Thompson / http://www.jacquelinethompsonceramics.com
Joanna Mendicino / http://www.jmendicino.com
Skyline Ceramics, Ruth Jacobson / http://www.skylineceramics.com

JEWELRY
Kathleen Maley http://www.kmaleydesign.com
Superhero Designs, Andrea Scher http://www.superherodesigns.com
Blue Wild Indigo, Carolina Graber / http://www.bluewildindigo.com
Mendy Marks / http://www.mendymarks.com
Melissa Muszynski / http://www.melissamuszynski.com
Fluidance, Josie Adele / http://www.fluidance.com
Gretchen Walker / http://www.gretchenwalker.com

ART GLASS
Lizard Works Glass, Trish Culbert / http://www.lizardworksglass.com
Scott Hegan / http://www.heganglassworks.com
Hanson and Kastles, Ken & Ingrid Hanson / http://www.hansonartglass.com

PAINTERS
Anna Noelle Rockwell / http://www.fateish.com

PHOTOGRAPHY
Niana Liu, http://www.nianaliu.com
Hot Tamale Arts, Mayra Padilla http://www.hottamalearts.com
Vincent Atos / http://www.vincefoto.com

Left Field Enterprises, LLC
912 Cole Street PMB #217
San Francisco, CA 94117
Ph: (415) 621-5033
http://www.leftfieldenterprises.com

[Left Field Enterprises]

Hello Sanjay,

First let me address the 400 block being included in the Festival. I
will say the 400 block merchants would love to see the Festival cross
over, but they all agreed it is not the right time. Their are many
positive changes happening in that area (I recently witnessed the
attached information), and it is just too soon to include the 400 block
for a first time event. We should not bite off more than we can chew
with this, let's see what happens. If the community is happy with the
first event, then by the time October 2007 comes around, the 400 block
may be in a much better state.

The Festival will also help to raise money for some neighborhood
improvements that both the Merchants Association and Neighborhood
Association want to work together on. All of the merchants on the 600
block are very excited and supportive of the Festival on your block and
every resident I have spoken to so far about a potential Festival is
thrilled, with the number one concern being parking.

As far as insurance, if someone were to get injured on your front steps
for example, what would be the cause? Drinking? Clumsiness?
If that person were to be injured due to festival negligence that is
what we are covered for, general liability. As I told Evan, in the 28
years the Haight Street Fair has been running, a claim has never been
filed. I believe peoples attention is going to be more on the art and
music versus vandalism and the like. All of your concerns are valid,
and exactly the same as the property owners in Cole Valley before that
first event, really exactly the same. After the first event, again due
to the style of festival we put on, all fears were put to rest, and it
has been voted best festival in San Francisco by the Guardian, and that
was the first year.

Something else to keep in mind, the Festival will only be two blocks,
if in the future it goes to the 400 block, then it would never be more
than a nice three blocks. It will not have people coming in from all
over the country like the historical Haight St. Fair, it is not the
Union Street Fair, not the Folsom Street Fair etc...we are not selling
alcohol and the live music is not going to be hard core punk, heavy
thrash metal or anything close to that. In my experience it will be
attended more by locals than those outside the city.

As I get more information I will email all, but I am waiting for the
hearing where all of this will be put on the table, literally.

Thank you,
Lori