Christmas Afoot : Pedestrians Clog Downtown Ventura for Holiday Street Festival

The brown felt antlers on Sue Pench’s head swayed gently in the breeze Sunday as she scanned the artisan booths and the swarms of shoppers on Main Street.

Pench of Ventura was among 40,000 people angling past each other to browse the Christmas tree ornaments, pottery and wooden Santas displayed at the city’s annual Holiday Street Festival.

“I’m a real ham,” Pench admitted. “I got them because my grand kids are coming. I’m going to go a step further and paint my nose red and hope no one’s gunning for reindeer.”

The festival, which blocked off a nine-block stretch of Main Street began at 11 a.m. but side streets were already clogged with cars circling for parking by 10.

Those able to park found about 400 artisans displaying their wares and more than 70 area charities and restaurants hawking everything from barbecue to baklava. The 19-year-old event was conceived as a way to bring people into the city’s core.

“The merchants and everybody loved getting all these people downtown and having them take a look around,” said Faye Campbell, special events coordinator for the city. “We’ve certainly succeeded with that. There are a lot of cities that envy us having this many people downtown.”

The heavy foot traffic was helping business at Beat City Records, said owner Jack Davis. The store was not mobbed, but a steady trickle of browsers came in from the festival outside.

Davis thought sales might pick up as the day wore on. “We have a lot of vinyl, and people don’t like to carry it around all day,” he said.

Still, he was pleased with the festival. “It’s better visibility-wise,” he said. “It lets people see you exist.”

Near the San Buenaventura Mission, Debbie Thorp of Oxnard was hoping for the same visibility. Her organization, the Oxnard-based Parents Uniting for Peace (PUP), was formed just a month ago to combat gang violence and find constructive activities for local youth, she said.

“We decided parents need to get out of the denial state of mind and do more for the youth,” said Thorp, whose fiance’s daughter was struck by a car while fleeing from a female gang. The daughter later died of her injuries.

Some of the people stopping by PUP’s booth on Main Street had heard of the group already, Thorp said. Many hadn’t but seemed receptive to the message. “We get a lot of people saying it’s about time someone comes up with something involving the youths and the parents,” she said.

The charity booths drew a steady stream of people, but most of those attending the festival seemed intent on shopping. Or at least looking.

“It’s a good crowd, but they sure aren’t parting with their money,” said Catherine Ortiz of Sherman Oaks as she sat folding colored paper into shapes on a small plastic board. She was making origami at the booth she shared with her mother, Barbara Ortiz, of Port Hueneme.

The origami Santas and the hand-painted Christmas tree ornaments Barbara Ortiz had made were the most popular.

By late afternoon, some festival-goers were lugging purchases back to their cars. Two pieces of yard art had struck Sharon Smith’s fancy--a wooden Santa and a wooden reindeer. They were bound for Smith’s Apple Valley home, a two-hour drive away.

Smith was pleased with her purchases but said the festival hadn’t quite captured the Christmas spirit for her.

“It’s still too warm,” she said. “It’s hard to be too festive when it’s 80 [degrees].”