Schools Benefit as Street Fair Exceeds Hopes, Quells Fears

The Sherman Oaks Street Fair and Carnival turned more than a fair profit, organizers of the event said Tuesday.

The street fair, which shut down a chronically congested portion of Ventura Boulevard for 12 hours Sunday, netted about $17,800, which organizers said was way beyond their expectations. Two-thirds of the profits will be distributed among five area elementary schools.

Police estimated that more than 14,000 people attended the street fair, and Carrie Konjoyan, vice president of the Greater Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce, said she was overwhelmed by the community’s response. The chamber estimated that about 63,000 people attended the fair and the three-day carnival that accompanied it.

“We threw a party and everyone came,” she said. “For a first-time effort by a group of business people who had never done this before, this is really a great surprise not to lose money in these bad economic times.”

The five schools that will receive about $2,200 each are Sherman Oaks, Dixie Canyon Avenue, Riverside Drive, Kester Avenue and Chandler, event officials said. The remainder of the profits will go to the chamber.

Organizers said they are already making plans for a fair next year with extended hours. “We hope this can become an annual event,” Konjoyan said.

Some residents and community leaders had feared the fair would bring traffic and parking problems, as well as criminals, to the area between Van Nuys Boulevard and Cedros Avenue. They were also concerned about a three-day carnival running in conjunction with the fair in a city parking lot at Cedros and Dickens Street.

But former critics said they were pleasantly surprised. They said traffic ran smoothly. Parking problems were eased when several merchants made their lots available to fair patrons.

City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who represents the area, had said before the fair that closing a street that handles an estimated 35,000 cars each Sunday was a risk, but he later said the gamble was worth it.

“I’m very happy,” said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. “Our apprehensiveness led us to contact Yaroslavsky, asking him to require parking and traffic control and security. That’s what made it a success. Before we did that, this thing was unorganized and chaotic. Planning is the key.”

James Morgan, special events manager of the city Department of Transportation, said traffic jams did not materialize, but added that 44 vehicles were impounded on streets with temporary “no parking” signs.

“We know there was a lot of notification to merchants and residents, but a lot of people still didn’t seem to know what was going on,” he said.

Jacklyn Thompson, principal of 629-student Chandler, said Tuesday that she had not been officially informed of the size of the donation, “but the teachers have been talking about what we would spend it on. We can certainly use it. We’re very grateful.”

The event also was a boon to several businesses along the two-block stretch of the San Fernando Valley’s “Main Street.” Proprietors said crowds spilled into their stores to browse and buy.

“Business definitely improved,” said Lisa Niazi, assistant manager of a Waldenbooks branch along the boulevard. “It was better than it usually was.”