Shame on the organizers of Sunset Junction

[Takemytaco]

Shame on the organizers of Sunset Junction for continuing to use the motto: "To live in harmony with our neighbors," while charging a mandatory $ 12 - 15 admission fee.


From the festival's launch, the Street Fair for many years was a true community event, open to all, regardless of income, and a noble attempt to bring harmony between the gentrifying neighbhorhood with the long established Latino community, including the gangsters who resided there. The gays, the gangsters, the gay gangsters, the hipsters, and plenty of stroller-pushing family units let their collective hair down, ate some grilled corn, got drunk on draft beer, rode carny-staffed rides and listened to indie bands or danced in one of the several dance areas. The admission was typically a "suggested donation" usually around $ 5 - 8, yet a dontation still. It was the event where you saw friends you've had for over a decade - or met new friends, and their friends. It was the annual event you didn't think was really possible - gays & heteros of all colors, the poor, the monied, junkies, trannies, 12-steppers, lawyers, couples, the waitresses from Millies, singles, nuns, your ex-boyfriend, your new wife, homegirls making out with nerds, rock stars, kids, gangsters trying to still flex some muscle, movie stars, the guy who hung out in front of Cafe Tropical with the fucked up guitar, people visibly ill from HIV / AIDS, the Silver Lake Walker, that guy who was in the movie you just saw at the Vista....They were all there and you thought, "This is why I'm in Silverlake."


Smells like this $ 12 - 15 admission fee is an accurate reflection of how Silver Lake is headed and the organizers of the festival should be looking for another motto. Something like "To live in harmony ONLY with our neighbors who can afford it. But definitely not the rest of you. This is the new Silver Lake. Another 'hood of exclusion."


I'm sending this to the organizers of Sunset Junction. If anyone feels the same, feel free to write them at:


SunsetJunction@SunsetJunction.org


Dino Dinco
A resident of Silver Lake for 13 year

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I pretty much feel the same way.
I won't be going this year.

[basschick]

is sunset junction's work being done by volunteers or are the workers being paid? do you know if they rent the stages or if they have to pay for them and whether the bands get paid?

[Paco]

I do not understand why they do not allocate tax-dollars, collected from the people of the community, and offer free entrance to all, while still accepting donations.

[A_DeAngelo]

I agree, this is all absurd! The whole purpose of a community event is to entice visitors to see what the community has to offer and more important, to provide a healthy and happy environment for neighbors and business people to get toghether and enjoy life for a few minutes together.

West Hollywood has allowed the same to happen with the CSW organizers - an enclosed event that we no longer participate in -

One of the reasons that Beverly Hills is an exceptional community is because all of the city sponsored events are FREE including concerts, holiday shows, art shows, etc, etc and we have tons of one and two hour FREE parking facilities spread all over town to ENCOURAGE visitors to come and SHOP AND SPEND MONEY and have fun!

I don't know why other communities don't follow our lead

[basschick]

there are a lot of costs involved with events like this, and unlike beverly hills, there is virtually no community in l.a. that can cover the costs easily.

the booths probably pay a fee to be included, but beyond staff, security and stuff like stages and advertising, the name bands get paid and there's administrative costs to include and also permits - which are probably quite hefty.

and being that a lot of the businesses in silverlake are very small - some barely making ends meet - and the fact that almost everyone i see there is very local and already knows that the businesses are there, it is not always possible for local businesses to chip in.

did you know there's no parking for this event? the community/city can't collect on parking fees plus it's very discouraging for outsiders to come when you might have to park over a half mile away.

I agree, this is all absurd! The whole purpose of a community event is to entice visitors to see what the community has to offer and more important, to provide a healthy and happy environment for neighbors and business people to get toghether and enjoy life for a few minutes together.

West Hollywood has allowed the same to happen with the CSW organizers - an enclosed event that we no longer participate in -

One of the reasons that Beverly Hills is an exceptional community is because all of the city sponsored events are FREE including concerts, holiday shows, art shows, etc, etc and we have tons of one and two hour FREE parking facilities spread all over town to ENCOURAGE visitors to come and SHOP AND SPEND MONEY and have fun!

I don't know why other communities don't follow our lead

[A_DeAngelo]

yeah I know - all good points

however, San Francisco Events such as Gay Pride and Folsom Street and Dore Alley, Grant Ave. Street Fair, etc, etc, don't charge anything at all and ask for a small donation, if at all, of $3 or so...

SF has the forward thinking city planners who know that in spite of no parking, etc... people come from all over (the world) for these events and the draw pays the city millions in revenue for hotels and food and everything else -

the city of LA is way behind in forward thinking and the planning of community events

[Takemytaco]

in 2004 it was still called a donation $7
http://web.archive.org/web/200310081...streetfair.htm

2005 $10.00 Donation
http://web.archive.org/web/200410091...streetfair.htm

2006 they are called tickets.
$12 in advance
$15 after 4:00 p.m.
http://sunsetjunction.org/streetfair_tickets.html


Gay pride in LA is another "event" I won't participate. when they are giving the message you can only be proud if u pay this amount.

[CamCruise]

Why do they need to charge a fee now?? For one reason only. insurance!!!

Things have changed since the Sunset Junction started back in my day. It was just a street fair for the locals. And it was great fun.
But once it got so big that it was a "EVENT" instead of a "STREET FAIR" Things changed.

But the laws have changed since then to. A "EVENT" like that now must have insurance.
And it not cheep.
As well they need to pay for the LA COPS to keep the peace and handle traffic.
Not to mention that any big group today is a posable terrorist target.
All that costs money!!!
So all these "EVENTS" have to make a hard choice to charge to get in. Ore not to have it at all.
It has nothing to do with trying to keep anyone out.
Its the reality of the world today.

[A_DeAngelo]

Shame on the organizers of Sunset Junction for continuing to use the motto: "To live in harmony with our neighbors," while charging a mandatory $ 12 - 15 admission fee.
....I'm sending this to the organizers of Sunset Junction. If anyone feels the same, feel free to write them at:

SunsetJunction@SunsetJunction.org

Dino Dinco
A resident of Silver Lake for 13 year

----

I pretty much feel the same way.
I won't be going this year.

why don't you also write your district supervisor Gloria Molina

she may have some answers for you

http://regrec.co.la.ca.us/VOTER/Public_Officials.cfm

[DonMike]

I have to agree with Jasun on the whole LA Pride thing. I've been going for the past few years because I was helping with the Erotic City tent (which is a whole other discussion I won't even go into here) but I'd do a quick round through the vendor booths and then go back to the tent. You'd be lucky to see a cool vendor booth with interesting things or a place to get more info about a community group because there are so many booths that are big corporate companies just trying to sway the gay buck in their favor. It's gotten really commercial.

I have to admit, I've never been to Sunset Junction. There is always something going on that weekend where I'm out of town or doing something. But it always seemed to me that it was a nice quiet street fair and not some overblown production.

[Takemytaco]

The LA Weekly's story on dubious admission charging of Sunset Junction Street Fair

http://www.laweekly.com/news/news/pr...0-tickets/304/

Priceless Sunset: No $10 Tickets

By CHRISTINE PELISEK
Thursday, September 1, 2005 - 12:00 am
LAPD officers dropped by last weekends Sunset Junction Street Fair, and, as in past years, they didnt like what they saw: staffers charging $10 admission.

The Silver Lake bash is a city-sponsored event on a public street and organizers cant charge people to get in or sell advance tickets. Donations are voluntary and can only be suggested.

We advised the organizers that if they insisted on charging $10 we would consider pulling their conditional-use permits for alcohol and loud music, said LAPD Sergeant Art Sandoval. We intervened and said it was a donation only and you cant strong-arm the people into giving you money.

Two weeks ago, Shane Goldsmith, a Silver Lake deputy with Councilman Eric Garcettis office, said that she asked fair organizer Michael McKinley, who runs the Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance, the nonprofit that puts on the fair and provides outreach for youth at risk in the Silver Lake and Echo Park areas, to post suggested donation signs. However, most of the gates had no signs, or signs were posted periodically during the two-day event. McKinley, when called for comment, hung up the phone twice.

The fair began in 1980 as a way to ease tension between gangs and the gay community. Despite a mid-80s riot, the peace effort was deemed a success, and the fair became an institution, with people paying whatever they could afford to get in. In 1997 McKinley fenced in the fair and began charging an entry fee. Since then, questions have arisen about where the fair proceeds are going and if it is reducing community frictions and problems in the community or just causing more. City streets are blocked off for the fund-raising event, and every year the city waives the $28,000 in fees. It is estimated that the fair draws more than 100,000 people.

In 2003, Garcettis office held a series of meetings to ease community tensions, and formed an advisory committee that came up with recommendations for fencing, alcohol sales and posting suggested donation signs. The committee also asked McKinley to show financial statements 60 days after the event. (The 2003 financial statement showed a profit of $83,000.) However, the committee was short-lived. There were less complaints, and we had a change in staff, said Garcettis acting chief of staff, Ana Guerrero, who has yet to receive the fairs 2004 financial statements.

Next year, Garcettis office plans to hold public meetings to once again talk about concerns. But some community members wonder why this happens year after year. Nothing is going to change unless someone gets involved who isnt afraid to look into it, said Silver Lake resident Dorit Dowler-Guerrero. No one wants to be the person who shuts it down because it wont look good when they run for higher office..

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[A_DeAngelo]

Yeah, and what a pisser! We drove accross town for what? circling for a very long time to find parking - ok - I can live with that but, because we were a few minutes past 4PM, we were charged $15 each to get in! So that was $30 for the two of us to ramble around - we left about a half hour later and headed to the Eagle where the gay crowd was much hotter - that $3 admission ($6 for two) added to the $7 for two beers - other rounds (paid for by others) added up to a whopping $43.50 + tips for two?!?!?! for the short 3 hour afternoon...

How does a young guy with a not so great paying job manage to get out these days and have any fun?

What did I do when I was in my $%&*#& ???

That's my point, with the orgaznizers ripping the cash out of our wallets, who's got anything left over for food, rent, car payments and porn?!?!?

No wonder we don't go out!!!! Its so much cheaper to order in...

[XXXWriterDude]

Yeah, and what a pisser! We drove accross town for what? circling for a very long time to find parking - ok - I can live with that but, because we were a few minutes past 4PM, we were charged $15 each to get in! So that was $30 for the two of us to ramble around - we left about a half hour later and headed to the Eagle where the gay crowd was much hotter - that $3 admission ($6 for two) added to the $7 for two beers - other rounds (paid for by others) added up to a whopping $43.50 + tips for two?!?!?! for the short 3 hour afternoon...

How does a young guy with a not so great paying job manage to get out these days and have any fun?

What did I do when I was in my $%&*#& ???

That's my point, with the orgaznizers ripping the cash out of our wallets, who's got anything left over for food, rent, car payments and porn?!?!?

No wonder we don't go out!!!! Its so much cheaper to order in...

Hmmmmm. Well, I had a wonderful time, as I do every year. I love being out among many of my friends and all the people, eating the festival food (Hawaiian BBQ, roasted corn, pineapple smoothies -- mmmmm, goooood), checking out the bands (the Cramps were particularly fun) and just walking the streets and looking at all the hot men. It's one of the few places you can find leather daddies mingling happily with hetero couples pushing their babies around in strollers, and I am happy to support such an endeavor with my $15.

When I first came to L.A., I was shocked to find out that Sunset Junction was free. Where I come from, these kinds of events always cost money. I know there's a lot that goes into them, so I expect to pay for them. Besides that, the money is going to a great cause. Until such a fact is otherwise proved, I choose to give Michael the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps I'll do a story on the Junction and see if I can get him to go on record for me.