Orange : Annual Street Fair Could Be Canceled

The International Street Fair, the annual Labor Day weekend celebration that drew 350,000 people last year, may be canceled because of the city’s inability to find liability insurance coverage.

Cancellation was one of six options presented to the City Council, which has been concerned about liability questions since the city withdrew from an insurance pool last year and has not been successfully in finding replacement insurance coverage.

Other options suggested by Councilman Don Smith include holding the fair but forbidding the sale of alcoholic beverages, or buying coverage just for the fair weekend.

The fair, which has been held at Glassell Street and Chapman Avenue for the last 13 years, features international foods and performing groups.

The city, because of the size of the fair and the liability question, would be forced to spend more money than ever before to hold the event this year, Smith said. He said the city would pay from $10,000 to $30,000 for insurance in addition to the $30,000 it would spend for the fair itself.

At a meeting last week, all council members said they would prefer to continue the fair.

“We feel it creates a good feeling in the city,” Smith said. “But we’ve got to make some tough decisions.”

The council has scheduled a public hearing on the matter for the March 25 meeting.