Vote to Cut Hours Threatens Sherman Oaks Carnival

Organizers of a carnival in Sherman Oaks say a decision by the City Council Wednesday to limit the hours of the event could throw the fund-raiser into jeopardy.

The organizers said they hope to reverse the council’s unanimous vote to end the carnival at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19--two hours earlier than requested.

The carnival operator told the Sherman Oaks Greater Chamber of Commerce, which is organizing the Sherman Oaks Street Fair and Carnival, that he will pull out of the event unless the hours are extended.

Such three-day carnivals typically earn a major portion of their proceeds on Saturdays after 7 p.m., said Jeff Brain, chamber president.

“They’ve given us a street fair and a carnival, but they’ve cut it just short of letting it be a success,” Brain said of the council.

If the carnival is scrapped, the street fair Oct. 20--for which the council has given approval to shut down Ventura Boulevard for 12 hours--may lose volunteers and money, Brain said.

“I think that we might have the event unraveling,” he said.

Organizers have planned to run a street fair along Ventura Boulevard between Van Nuys Boulevard and Cedros Avenue on Oct. 20--a proposal that was attacked by community residents who worried about parking and traffic.

The carnival, with 10 rides and 10 games, would begin Oct. 18 and run through the weekend in a city parking lot at the corner of Dickens Street and Cedros Avenue.

The chamber had asked permission to hold the carnival until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 8 p.m. on Sunday, said Katharine Macdonald, spokeswoman for Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky.

But Yaroslavsky tried to balance the wishes of the organizers with concerns of neighbors when he asked the council to restrict the carnival’s hours from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Macdonald said.

“This area directly abuts a residential area, and there are some people who have expressed concerns about having the carnival go any later,” she said.

Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., applauded Yaroslavsky.

“This is not a city park and this is not Westwood Village,” Close said. “This is a residential neighborhood.”

Organizers are frantically searching for an alternative location to keep the carnival operator from backing out.

At one point, they even told Yaroslavsky’s office that they would put up disgruntled homeowners for a night in a hotel if they could get the extra two hours on Saturday, Brain said.

Meanwhile, groups from five elementary schools--which are splitting the proceeds from the event with the chamber--will meet this week to discuss what to do now.

The school and chamber had hoped to raise $20,000 through the carnival and fair.

The loss of two hours on Saturday night could cut those expected profits by $6,000, Brain said.