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North Beach Festival still debating booze sales
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Whether alcohol will be allowed at this year’s North Beach Festival remains uncertain, as some neighbors assert that the event should be for families, not partygoers.
SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Although the annual two-day North Beach Festival is scheduled to take place in less than two weeks, it remains up in the air whether participants will be allowed to drink alcohol in Washington Square Park.
For the second year, a debate about alcoholic beverages at the 53-year-old event is pitting fair organizers against some neighbors who say the park is for families, not partiers. City officials are trapped in the middle of the feud.
“It’s a difficult position to try to balance everybody’s concerns at an event that attracts thousands and thousands of people,” said Rose Marie Dennis, spokeswoman for the Recreation and Park Department, which grants liquor permits for events in public spaces. “There is a clash of opinion about what booze does to the event.”
The North Beach Festival, centered in Washington Square Park and on four adjacent blocks in San Francisco’s Little Italy neighborhood, is The City’s oldest street fair. More than 100,000 visitors gather for the live music, poetry readings and art booths at the event each year.
In the last few years, however, there has been a growing movement among some neighborhood groups to dry up events where alcohol has traditionally flowed. For the first time, there will be no alcohol at Sunday’s Haight Ashbury Street Fair because neighbors complained about drunken people urinating in doorways and trashing the streets. The How Weird Street Faire, held in a South of Market neighborhood, has been canceled for the same reasons.
Last year, The City’s Recreation and Park Commission denied the North Beach Festival a liquor permit because of neighbors’ concerns about noise, drunken fairgoers and minors being barred from the park.
Mayor Gavin Newsom, however, brokered a compromise that allowed people to buy alcohol from beer gardens on Union Street and drink them in a designated part of Washington Square Park, one of The City’s oldest parks.
That deal has not been carried over to this year’s event, and debate has picked up where it left off last year.
Festival planners say alcohol sales financially support the event. Beyond that, there are cultural reasons for wanting adults to have the option of enjoying beer and wine in the park, as they have for decades.
“This is the oldest festival of its kind in the country,” said Marsha Garland, executive director of the North Beach Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the festival. “People who live in big cities need events.”
The Recreation and Park Commission will discuss the alcohol issue and take action at 2 p.m. Thursday at City Hall.
How do you feel about alcohol sales at street festivals?
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Comments from Examiner Readers
1:46 PM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007 re: "Beer will flow at North Beach Festival"
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11:24 PM MST on Fri., Jun. 8, 2007
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9:35 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 5, 2007
re: "North Beach Festival still debating booze sales"
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9:13 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 5, 2007
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3:10 AM MST on Tue., Jun. 5, 2007
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8:48 AM MST on Mon., Jun. 4, 2007
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Examiner Reader said:
It's not the alcohol that's the problem, it's the people who can't control themselves when drinking it in the hot sun. I live in North Beach and enjoy the freedom of having a beer with friends while listening to a band play for free in the park. It's great. Really. You should try it. Allow the beer/wine. Yes, there are many bars nearby that can serve beer too. That's fine too. And the doofus that gets out of hand drunk should be plucked out from the crowd. This is San Francisco. Don't ruin my lovely North Beach with your puritan laws. If someone's getting out of hand in the park, boot them out. Don't ruin it for the rest of us just trying to have a good time.
213 agree | 204 disagree
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Joe said:
These events aren't "San Francisco street life". They're big business interests turning the streets into a mall, with the intention of separating suburban frat boys from their money.
234 agree | 224 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The last time I checked, all the bars and nightclubs in North Beach are still serving alcohol. Alex, instead of being so dramatic and caterwauling about "Prohibition" you can maybe drop a little of your cash at one of those local establishments during the fair?
240 agree | 201 disagree
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alex said:
who would've thought that prohibition would be rearing its ugly head in san francisco...
227 agree | 242 disagree
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jaderock said:
I don't see why alcohol has to be such a major factor in a Street festival success. I mean Chinatown has street festivals several times a year. I believe it's one of the most successful ones as well. However alcohol has never been a part of it. Why can some folks enjoy life without booze?!? It should be a family friend event for ALL not just party goers. In fact, without the booze, people are less rowdy.
227 agree | 231 disagree
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James, San Francisco said:
Yes, alcohol should be allowed. The way to manage it is to cite or arrest those who are publicly drunk or otherwise creating a nuisance. San Francisco's much-lauded street life should not be the purview of only the closed-minded property owners who always see a devil when alcohol is around. Geesh, people - get a grip!
519 agree | 269 disagree
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