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Interview with Castro Street Fair Executive Director George Ridgely
By Romanus Wolter
Now in its 34th year, the Castro Street Fair is a showcase for local artists, craftspeople and businesses to display their products while helping to raise funds for non-profit agencies across the City.
In an interview with George Ridgely, Executive Producer, and Flower Frankenstein, Founder of the Sugar Valley Artists Section, this reporter discovered that there is a lot more to the fair than just a day for friends and family to gather, celebrate and enjoy another fun day in the sun.
Castro Courier: The Castro Street Fair began as a celebration of the LGBT community. Is that true?
Ridgely: In 1974, Harvey Milk created the fair to showcase local artists and simultaneously foster vitalization of the developing “gay village” that the Castro has ultimately grown to be. The fair was viewed as a way to unify the local gay community in defiance of the Eureka Valley Merchants Association, which refused to cooperate with gay merchants in the neighborhood.
How has the fair’s objective changed over the years?
Over 50,000 people attend the fair each year. It began as a fairly loose gathering of like-minded artists and individuals from the local community. Inevitably, it evolved into more of a platform for a political voice during the AIDS crisis in the 80s.
The effect of promoting community objectives as well as artists is still present today. One of the fair’s main objectives is to raise money for non-profits that provide critical services and support to the local community. At the same time, we strive to keep to the original core objective of a community celebration at the heart of the fair.
The fair raises enough money to run itself and to make donations that help community-based organizations thrive.
We are fortunate to raise enough funds from both booth sales and our sponsorship partners to produce the fair. Every year it gets more difficult to make our bottom line, but we are proud of the fact that we donate 100 percent of the gate receipts back to the community.
In 2006, we donated a record $90,000 to a number of groups such as Instituto Familiar De La Raza, Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, and the Metropolitan Community Church. Not many people know that funds from the fair are also used to maintain the huge rainbow flag at Harvey Milk Plaza.
What is scheduled for entertainment this year?
We have a diverse assortment of entertainment from bands to drag queens in store for the fair on the main stage, the country western dance area and the 18th Street Stage, which is sponsored and hosted by Energy 92.7. It is also the five-year anniversary of Sugar Valley, which is a total flashback to the original roots of the fair.
Sugar Valley is my favorite section of the fair.
Sugar Valley is an outdoor performance area that celebrates Harvey Milk’s original vision to make the Castro Street Fair an arts festival. Sugar Valley enables people to discover the creativity in themselves and in the community as a whole.
The festivities include over 100 artists and performers who are influenced by pop culture, vaudeville, carnivals, fashion, and art that is colorful, playful, and inventive just like the Castro lifestyle. Sugar Valley is located on 18th Street between Hartford and Noe. Public participation is encouraged, so come down to this delicious neighborhood and meet your neighbors.
I understand that this year’s fair is dedicated to Pablo Heising, the fair’s Executive Director who recently passed.
Pablo was instrumental in producing the Castro Street Fair for more than 30 years. He died unexpectedly in December of 2006 and was without a doubt the fair’s greatest ally and guardian.
Sugar Valley is staging a parade at noon and is giving away 500 helium balloons as part of the celebration of his contributions.
Everyone on the fair’s Board of Directors, which is 15 members strong, recognizes the legacy we have been entrusted to continue and we all miss Pablo terribly.
The Castro Street Fair will be held Sunday, Oct. 7 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
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