Street Fair Brings New Fun to Old Coast Town

For many of us, Thursday is a day to sit around wishing it were Friday.

Not so in San Luis Obispo, where folks pack up their appetites, the children and any loose relatives or friends and head downtown for the evening.

What awaits them is a festive five-block street fair offering entertainment, barbecued everything and some of the freshest and most succulent fruits and vegetables imaginable.

And it happens every Thursday night of the year--even when it rains--except Thanksgiving, drawing anywhere from 2,000 people in the winter to 15,000 in the summer.

The name--Thursday Night Activities--may be bland, but the fare isn’t: barbecued ribs, chicken, corn on the cob, hot dogs made with sweet Portuguese sausage, barbecued shredded pork or tri-tip beef sandwiches, salads, stuffed potatoes, fried potatoes, ice cream, cookies, brownies and popcorn.

And that’s just on the lower three blocks of Higuera Street. The upper two blocks are a true farmers’ market, boasting produce picked from strictly local farmers a couple of hours before you see it.

There are the leafy vegetables and corn and edible-podded peas and such exotics as the lettuce-like arugula, herbs, nuts, dried and fresh flowers. Much of the produce, incidentally, is organically grown.

And the entertainment--jugglers, mimes, puppeteers, jazz bands, magicians, caricaturists and a Disneyland-like 7-foot Downtown Bear handing out treats and hugs to the kids.

What has become San Luis Obispo’s biggest attraction other than Hearst Castle was not part of master plan to revitalize the mission-college town just about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, even though that’s been the result.

It started almost accidentally eight years ago as a way of coping with a typical urban problem: local kids taking over the main street for “cruising” with their hot rods, low-riders and pickup trucks on Thursday nights when stores traditionally stayed open until 9.

The problem became so serious, according to Carolyn Mason of the Business Improvement Assn., that downtown business was being ruined and many saw the beginning of the end for the retail area.

The first move was to simply close the street, but all that did, she said, was to chase everyone away.

Then one of the restaurateurs asked for permission to put a ranch barbecue wagon out on the street and see if that wouldn’t attract paying customers. It did, and the Thursday Night Activities were off and running, although not without some mighty big hurdles to clear or without some serious fits and starts along the way.

“One of our major concerns was that this not turn into some kind of swap meet where people could come to peddle Lord knows what,” says Peter Jankay, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo botany professor who manages the farmers’ market.

So some very strict guidelines were established, and they still govern the festivities. For example, only the restaurants and other food establishments like bakeries and ice cream stores can get permits to cook and sell food. And only the farmers can get permits to sell produce, and they or a blood relative must be on hand at all times.

“As a result, most of the farmers are from the immediate area, from relatively small family farms,” says Jankay. “As a matter of fact, several of our farmers derive all of their annual income just from this market or two other farmers’ markets held in the area (in Morro Bay on Thursday afternoons and in San Luis Obispo on Saturday mornings).”

The prices are competitive, he says, with supermarkets in the area. “The big point in our favor, though, is that you are not paying a premium for the better quality and the freshness.”

The farmers don’t have to concern themselves with shelf life, he says, because almost all of what they bring to the market is sold that evening and it is ripe because most of the buyers intend to do a little munching on the spot.

One of the other strict rules has to do with hours of operation. The streets are blocked at 5:30, and that’s when the eateries can fire up the mesquite and oak for the nine barbecue wagons allowed. Food service begins at 6, and the farmers’ market begins at 6:30. Promptly at 9, all activities cease.

No pets are allowed on the street either, a result of dogs fighting over rib bones during the early days of the event. And booze--both the sale and consumption thereof--is prohibited, although the bars and restaurants serving liquor are open for business.

As a matter of fact, all of the retail stores along Higuera Street are open during the Thursday Night Activities and are booming.

“Essentially, what happened here,” says Jankay, “is that downtown has been totally revitalized. It’s become the place to be, and a number of other cities are taking a close look at us with plans to copy what we’ve done.”

Thursday Night Activities are held 6-9 p.m., rain or shine, on Higuera Street between Nipomo and Santa Rosa streets in San Luis Obispo. For information, contact the Business Improvement Assn., P.O. Box 1402, San Luis Obispo, Calif. 93406, (805) 541-0286.