Downtown Arcadia will launch a new street fair July 3 with a patriotic festival kicking off the first night’s festivities. This week the Arcadia City Council unanimously approved the new weekly event that has been in Monrovia for 23 years to now be staged from 5-9 p.m. on Fridays in Arcadia on First Avenue from Huntington Drive north past Wheeler Avenue to near Santa Clara Street by the 24 Hour Fitness.
(Update June 11: The Street Fair will offer the best of the event of the last 23 years in Monrovia, including a huge Farmer’s Market featuring at least 43 vendors, including the popular Homeboy Industries bakery, as well as 75-80 additional craft, food and merchandise vendors that will include the popular Mister Potato truck, Candylicious apples, kettle corn, and tamales. For families and kids there will be a petting zoo, pony rides, bouncey houses, a rock-climbing wall, balloon artist, face painting, and caricatures. And, of course, live music — Memphis Mike and the Swinging 8Balls on July 3.)
To kick off the event, a simultaneous Patriotic Festival will be staged around the corner by the Downtown Arcadia Improvement Association as the first event to be held at the new Arcadia Transit Plaza on Santa Clara Street at First Avenue. The event is made possible by the generosity of sponsors including former Mayor Peter Amundson’s
Minuteman Transport, Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary, and Downtown Arcadia’s own Foothill Credit Union. Additional sponsors are sought by the non-profit and tax-deductible 501 (c)(3) Arcadia Improvement Association at $1,000 per event, $2,500 per month, or $5,000 for six months to cover the cost of police security, marketing and promotional materials, and other expenses. Contact AIA’s Sharon Logan at shdacam@aol.com.
Matt Denny’s Ale House & Restaurant owner Matt McSweeny has arranged for his Tuesday night band J.C. Hyke and local band Totally Hip Replacements to perform patriotic and fun rock music on the stage at the plaza, while Matt Denny’s and Villa Catrina Mexican Restaurant will offer great food and beverages.
Mayor Kovacic will kick off the July 3 event with announcements shortly after 5 p.m. at the Arcadia Transit Plaza on Santa Clara Street across from 24 Hour Fitness.
L.A.’s favorite Hawai’ian shave ice truck, A ROCKin Ice will offer special red, white and blue shave ice for the occasion, along with more than a dozen other flavors of shave ice, as well as delicious ice cream cookie sandwiches, slushy lemonades, and coffee parfaits. A ROCKin Ice was one of the most popular food trucks at the inaugural Arcadia’s Best Foundation Patriotic Festival and parade that drew 4,000 attendees in 2011 and was also in Downtown Arcadia on First Avenue. Arcadia’s Best Foundation also produced Christmas Markets the first three Saturdays in December the last two years, the last of which drew about 2,000 people.
Additional Arcadia businesses may participate as vendors and receive a special discounted rate if they are members of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce. A 10’x10′ space and electricity will be $30 per event, payable to Family Festival Productions – contact Patty at patty@familyfestivalproductions.net. The AIA will also offer a special rate on rental table, chairs, pop-up rental equipment if you do not have your own. For rental equipment, contact Sharon Logan: shdacam@aol.com.
The street fair on July 3rd and every week thereafter will feature the best of all the elements of the long-running Monrovia Friday Family Fun Festival, with the same producer, Dave Gayman of Family Festival Productions, bringing his favorite food, beverage, merchandise, and farmer’s market vendors, as well as live music, bounce houses and other activities for kids and adults. New vendors on July 3 will also include some of the best artisans from the recent Sierra Madre Wisteria Festival, including Saint Johns Sponge Co. and Hawaiian Fragrant Crystals.
This will give Arcadians plenty of options, with Monrovia continuing its Friday event with a new producer, and, starting July 10, families have the luxury of shopping and eating at the Downtown Arcadia Street Fair before heading over about 8 p.m. to the City’s weekly free summer Movies in the Park for seven Fridays in July and August.
— By Scott Hettrick