FRESNO, Calif. – On the corner of Kern and Fulton streets in downtown Fresno, dozens of local artists, vendors and small business owners set up their shops last week just as they had done before.
The first Thursday of the month usually draws a crowd of 15,000 for what is known as “Arthop.” But last week, the streets were nearly empty.
Two weeks prior, city officials announced the popular arts and culture event would move indoors for August due to health and safety concerns. Artists and vendors criticized the announcement, saying it would hurt their businesses.
“There would be hundreds of people here set up to sell,” said Joseph Rodriguez, an artist who, despite new restrictions, still set up his art booth. “There would be even more hundreds of people walking the streets to enjoy the night. And that's all been taken away.”
The city warned code enforcement officers would issue fines to unauthorized vendors but Rodriguez said some had only received warnings.
Changes on the horizon
In late July, the City of Fresno announced Arthop would be split up in two in an effort to allocate resources to better regulate crowds.
The first Thursday of the month, the city says, will be an opportunity for art galleries to open their doors to the public and showcase their art. It would revive the original structure of the event that dates back to the 1990s.
Meanwhile, the outdoor street fair portion of Arthop that has grown exponentially through the years would be moved to Wednesday nights. The decision was announced at a Downtown Stakeholders meeting last week by Fresno city councilmember Miguel Arias, who represents downtown Fresno.
At the proposed Wednesday event, the city would cover the costs of blocking off streets, provide garbage services, public restrooms, and amp up police presence. The event would remain free to attend for attendees and vendors – excluding a $24 business certificate from the city, and a public health certificate for food vendors.
“We as a city are not interested in making money off vendors,” Arias said at the meeting. “We’re interested in getting organization and structure, and having enough city support services on site to handle thousands of people on a monthly basis coming downtown.”
‘Why change things now?’
As the August Arthop event rolled in the next day, the Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden was buzzing with life.
Four food trucks and seven vendors squeezed into the outdoor space. They were given permission from the business owners to set up their shops inside the venue, since they couldn’t set up on city sidewalks.
“We were left in limbo for about a week until we got a notice we were going to be allowed in Tioga,” vendor Kaile Quintana said. “Our customers were asking us if we were going to be out, if we were going to be selling. We just didn’t know.”
Quintana runs Yappy Hour, a small business that sells homemade dog treats. She only recently started vending at Arthop, and says her sales were slow during last Thursday’s event compared to previous pop-ups.
“This is where most of our commission comes from,” Quintana said. “It was perfectly fine how it was. Why change things now?”
Various customers at the beer garden, like Holly Morton, are already noticing the difference under new proposed rules.
“I can see why [the city] would move indoors during the summertime for heat purposes,” said Morton, a frequent Arthop attendee. “But I don't agree with it at all. There's people who pay their rent this way. It's pretty messed up what they did.”
Some hope for outdoor vendors?
City officials hope to launch the new street fair as soon as September. At the community meeting held last week, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said he hopes to see the event become a weekly occurrence – similar to Downtown San Luis Obispo’s Farmer’s Market and Downtown San Francisco’s First Thursday.
Community members who attended the meeting voiced concerns with the split event, saying the changes were sudden and didn’t consider the needs of vendors and artists. Some even noted the famous events in SLO and San Francisco are held on Thursdays – the same day as Arthop.
“The first question every one of us asked is ‘who parties on a Wednesday?'’’ said Rodriguez, one of the artists who organized the Aug. 1 protest and attended the downtown meeting. “We’re devastated they would take such a popular day and move it to the day before.”
For now, vendors are continuing to push the city for a solution that both sides can agree on.
“It was a half-hearted proposal,” Rodriguez said. “It doesn’t make sense to split the day.”
