Organizers said 13,000 attended the Montavilla Street Fair on Sunday, July 30, and it seemed like a great time was had by all.
The street fair had 140 vendors, up from 100 last year, and were able to increase the payment to the musicians too, said Stephen Rice, president of the Montavilla East Glisan Business Association, who organized the street fair.
My friend and I randomly met Rice and Lukas Strong, event organizer, after the street fair at Redwood (7915 SE Stark St) enjoying happy hour drinks and the air conditioning. We started talking after I asked Strong for a photo of his amazing turquoise Montavilla shirt. Strong said the event took 15 to 20 volunteers to put on, and Rice added that it needed a budget of $20,000.
My favorite thing about publishing on a website is the flexibility it gives me. Words, photos, video, audio, web links… I can choose the best mix to tell the story most effectively.
This kind of event is best told with visuals, and I hope we were able to capture some of the sweet scenes and relaxed atmosphere of the street fair. My friend Erik Hadland helped out with video and photography.
Here’s a few video clips from the festival, backed by music from the excellent Denny Bixby band. There were three stages and music all day. If you want to find one, the music schedule is here.
I saw a lot of interesting businesses and organizations, and what looked like several new ones including: Nature Commode, a composting portable toilet company; Cold as Ice Creamery (411 SE 81st Ave), an ice cream shop; and Vino Veritas (7835 SE Stark St), a neighborhood wine bar and bottle shop.
A lot of the business owners looked too busy to talk, but I was able to catch Dana Cofer, the owner of Vino Veritas, which I think is the newest business on SE Stark.
Small businesses have always excited me, and I enjoy learning about their owners and the story and values motivating all the hard work it takes to be successful. That’s one of the main goals of Village Portland: to help neighbors learn more about and support neighboring businesses and organization.
It was great meeting Dana and several other small business owners, and I look forward to helping share their stories.
We ended the evening at Montavilla Station (417 SE 80th Ave) for the Sunday blues jam with Bolt Upright… a neighborhood tradition that’s been happening weekly for over five years.
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