MEINERS OAKS : Merchants Prepare Community Festival
Meiners Oaks will have a party Saturday to draw attention to a shopping area that is often eclipsed by downtown Ojai.
“We want to get away from being a secondhand Ojai and create our own identity,” said Lisa Sauvageau, owner of Voyageur Tapestry Carry-Alls.
“This is a small community and we want people to know it’s very friendly here. We’re very old-fashioned in that sense.”
About 20 merchants in the Meiners Oaks business district--which stretches about five blocks along El Roblar Avenue off California 33 in the Ojai Valley--have hired bands and entertainers and are preparing free refreshments and craft demonstrations to create a festive atmosphere from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The celebration is a way for Meiners Oaks residents and business people to affirm their sense of community, Sauvageau said.
“Most of the businesses here are sole-proprietorships, so there’s a lot of direct contact between the proprietors and customers. We’re not heavily capitalized down here. We’re the laborers of the valley, while downtown Ojai is the Rodeo Drive.”
Participating businesses include a pizza parlor, a karate studio, a hardware store, a video store, a gift shop, a hair salon and a gym.
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