4th St Fair.

I know theres at least a few of you here who live on 4th st and has a say in the fair.

Many of us don't know what happened. Im sure many of us agree the Fair was a beautiful thing. Was it KKs administration that put you all out of business? If it was couldn't you all get it back together and make it work again now that hes gone?
As I understand there was a lot of infighting.
Maybe now that some of the pressure is off it could work again.

Sorry if I haven't followed up on old threads, it seems enough time may have past to rekindle a beautiful thing.

You guys were kickass at what you did.

There seemed to be two choices:

1) The police would come and bust it up because of a lack of permits

2) With all the permits filed, the street fair would be Dallified; the hobo drink tents replaced with shea butter, sunglasses and beltbuckles galore ...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Detroitnerd

There seemed to be two choices:

1) The police would come and bust it up because of a lack of permits

2) With all the permits filed, the street fair would be Dallified; the hobo drink tents replaced with shea butter, sunglasses and beltbuckles galore ...

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No fan of KK but this sounds more like a revenue hungry police force, per the recession, than any particular mayoral administrations fault.

The police just enforce existing laws. Blame the lawmakers, blame the people who vote for them. Blame the socieity that over-regulates, choking out any hope of creativity. Permits are like taxes. Blame high taxes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RickBeall

The police just enforce existing laws. Blame the lawmakers, blame the people who vote for them. Blame the socieity that over-regulates, choking out any hope of creativity. Permits are like taxes. Blame high taxes.

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Police exercise loads of discretion in the laws they choose to enforce. Methinks the revolutionary nature of 4th St. is what is under attack.

When was the last time they had the fair?

I could almost see what was going to happen to this fair before it happened. It went from a being an underground street fair to being advertised in real Detroit, the metro times the Detroit freepress the final year telling the whole world but ended up drawing the wrong attention from the city. This was hands down my favorite festival of the year.

The police never hastled the fair until the organizers started fighting amongst themselves and brought attention to themselves. Once they brought attention to themselves, then the police just have to enforce the laws.

There are dozens of block parties which include street closures and vendors and stages every year. The block parties are usually put on by the block clubs or neighborhood associations, whichever applies in the area. In my experience these have not been bothered by the city, in fact cops usually hang around. Can the 4th Street fair rechristen itself as a block club party? Are the rules different for those events or does the city just not bother them because they are so longstanding and family friendly?

What if the event were made smaller and located on the empty lots on 4th? Again police don't seem to bother people on private property, drinking and playing horseshoes or selling weird stuff. Maybe the vendors could be reinvented as a "block sale"?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DetroitPole

There are dozens of block parties which include street closures and vendors and stages every year. The block parties are usually put on by the block clubs or neighborhood associations, whichever applies in the area. In my experience these have not been bothered by the city, in fact cops usually hang around. Can the 4th Street fair rechristen itself as a block club party? Are the rules different for those events or does the city just not bother them because they are so longstanding and family friendly?

What if the event were made smaller and located on the empty lots on 4th? Again police don't seem to bother people on private property, drinking and playing horseshoes or selling weird stuff. Maybe the vendors could be reinvented as a "block sale"?

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I agree. Of course, the neighborhood is now divided over the issue, and that's a whole 'nother problem.

I used to live in that area -- recall the festivals back in the mid-eighties. They even did a few bonfires... and keg beer galore just independent purchases. Non of that would fly now and I hear the community all divided over it all...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ddaydetroit

I could almost see what was going to happen to this fair before it happened. It went from a being an underground street fair to being advertised in real Detroit, the metro times the Detroit freepress the final year telling the whole world but ended up drawing the wrong attention from the city. This was hands down my favorite festival of the year.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zacha341

I used to live in that area -- recall the festivals back in the mid-eighties. They even did a few bonfires... and keg beer galore just independent purchases. Non of that would fly now and I hear the community all divided over it all...

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There have to be what, 50 tops people living on that block and they can't reach an agreement? Geeze, neighborhood politics sure get ugly.

I didn't realize they advertised it that last year. I could see why the city came down on them now.

Also my favorite festival.

My neighbor and I hosted a "stage" behind our first floor apartments in 07' [[matter of fact, one of the DYes rotating banners shows a picture of us on our porch with the band "The Electric Slide," which was awesome by the way;). We never got a permit, or asked the neighbors permission. And everyone liked our party so much that by the end of the night, we had basically closed the other stages.

Apparently, this pissed off some of the neighbors living behind us who also happened to be on the 4th street fair "committee." Next thing we knew, they were telling everybody that they weren't serving anymore because they weren't able to control the fair, and the fact that we could just have bands play withouit their prior consent was bullshit. The following year, I heard there was no fair.

Sorry guys.

It was good, while it lasted. We liked the vibe, the bonfire, but mostly the people, and the apparent spontaneity.

An awesome time indeed. I missed the last two years, but had no idea it was not going on. Sucks.

A rather elderly woman [[more like a living saint, actually) named Alma Stone used to collect rent for, and semi-manage, the apartment building closest to the freeway on the west side of 4th. [[I'm talking late 1970's, here.) She came to an end so ugly that I don't even want to get into it. Suffice it to say that she was murdered.
Does anyone here know what became of her killers?

Detroit Free Press [[MI) - Thursday, March 25, 1982
Author: Free Press Staff and Wire Reports
Dateline Michigan

Guilty

in robbery-slaying
DETROIT - "A Detroit man, who had testified he jumped on a woman's chest but didn't mean to kill her,
was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday in the death of a Cass Corridor apartment manager.
The Recorder's Court jury ruling means Jack Maxwell, 22, will be sentenced to life in prison without
parole. Under the mandatory sentence, he can be freed only by a governor's pardon.
He and two other adults were convicted in the Sept. 3 robbery-slaying of Alma Stone, 78, in the Valson

Apartments on Fourth Street."

Per the OTIS system he is sentenced to Life.

When hippies start getting competitive, the 1980's happens.

DW, thank you very much.
Obviously, I am thrilled by the sentence, as well. That woman was a beautiful, eternally-young soul trapped in a body which was wearing down; I was crazy about her, and I never stopped feeling absolutely horrified and sickened by what happened to her.
And, you all can believe me when I state that I hope that guy was repeatedly assaulted, and eventually slowly murdered, in prison. It doesn't distress my conscience one bit, to write that, and I completely, 100% fucking mean it. If I had caught up with him, I would have sliced his goddam face off and forced him to eat it.
Thanks, again.

Sorry about the momentary thunder-cloud, gang; carry on.