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Solano Avenue Stroll

The Solano Avenue Stroll, also known as the Solano Stroll, is an annual street fair held on the second Sunday of September on the Solano Avenue shopping district of Albany and Berkeley, California. Stretching close to 2 miles long and bringing between 250,000 and 300,000 attendees in a single day, it has been called the oldest and largest street festival in the San Francisco Bay Area[1][2] and the "world's biggest block party".[3] In 2001, the Library of Congress's American Folklife Center in Washington, D.C. designated the festival as a "National Local Legacy".[4]

2009 Solano Stroll video, 09/13/2009

History Edit

The Solano Stroll began in 1974 by the Thousand Oaks Merchant Association, a small business guild started by Ira Klein and co-headed by Lisa Burnham. Klein owned and managed "The Iris", a Solano clothing and jewelry store formerly based on Shattuck Avenue[5] that sold dress goods made primarily by local fashion designers, among the earliest including Laurel Burch. Lisa Burnham (née Liesel Hirsch), an Austrian national and Holocaust survivor,[6] owned "Northumbrian Antiques", an interior design business on Solano from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Klein conceived the festival as both a "thank you party" to customers and to promote the avenue's family-owned business community.[7] According to a Patch.com interview with son Gabe Klein, the elder Klein's three creative influences included his childhood in New York City, the culture of Telegraph Avenue while he attended UC Berkeley in the 1960s, and his maternal cousin, George Schindler, a noted magician and film actor.[8] Klein had been involved with the fair's planning, promotion and organizing until closing his business in 1998. Event organizer Lisa Bullwinkel directed the event for 16 years, from 1989 to 2005. Burnham died in 2001 in Berkeley, and Klein in 2007 in Springfield, Oregon. Current Citizens for East Shore Parks president and former Albany mayor Robert Cheasty, a civil attorney who runs a law firm on the avenue, is a ranking organizer of the Solano Stroll, being involved with the festival since 1984 and having served as the Solano Avenue Association's (SAA) president from 1989 to 1991.

The first festival began on a Friday evening and included only the Thousand Oaks Berkeley portion of Solano Avenue before expanding to Albany a few years later and switching to Sunday. By this time, the "Thousand Oaks Merchant's Association" would become the "Solano Avenue Association". Initially an after-hours reception for local businesses, the fair would include attractions such as magician booths, live bands, street theatre, jugglers and fire eaters by the late 1970s.[9] Although the event has always been funded by Solano businesses, larger sponsors have included Safeway, Andronico's, Mechanic's Bank, BART as well as the city governments of Albany and Berkeley.

What would've been the 47th in 2020 ended up going on hiatus until 2022.

The Solano Stroll Edit

Parade and grand marshals Edit

The Solano Stroll begins with an 8am breakfast served at Memorial Park, near Albany High School, before the fair's parade begins at the Eastern end of Solano Avenue in Berkeley at 10am. Since the 1980s, a grand marshal has been chosen to head the parades; previous leaders have included Buffalo Bob Smith (of 1950's NBC television show Howdy Doody) in 1996,[10] 1972 Olympian and sports writer Craig Van Collie in 1998,[11] sixties counterculture icon Wavy Gravy in 2000,[12] and former Noah's Bagels CEO/founder Noal Alper in 2010, whose namesake deli still has a location on Solano Avenue. In addition to city politicians and personnel, the parade also includes marching bands and cheerleaders from high schools across the Bay Area and various performance artists or dance troupes.

Festival Edit

After the parade closes, the street opens to pedestrians and remains closed to traffic until 6pm. Various forms of entertainment include taiko, belly dancing, karate tournaments, vintage car shows, puppet shows, clowns, stilt walkers, improvisational theater, magicians, face painting, dunk tanks, fun houses and most recently amusement rides.

Music Edit

Local music groups, in addition to school bands, perform songs during the festival. Styles have included jazz, folk rock, alternative rock, Klezmer, Scottish folk dance, bluegrass, hip hop, R&B, soul, zydeco, roots rock and tribute/cover.

Famous past acts at the Solano Stroll have included The Uptones, Operation Ivy, Rancid and Piranha (during the 1980s); and bands (or creative members of) Blue Öyster Cult,[13] Blind Illusion,[13] Heathen,[13] Alphabet Soup, Primus,[14] The Charlie Hunter Trio,[14] Furthur,[14] RatDog[14] and Country Joe and the Fish during the 1990s and 2000s (decade). From the late 1980s onward, band selection has been conducted via a jury process and fee decided by SAA members.

In 2000, Country Joe McDonald said of the fair:

It's like a picnic. I see a lot of my friends, which is great. It's a much friendlier and nicer place. You couldn't have had a Solano Stroll in the 60s...young people are a lot smarter now.[15]

Cuisine Edit

Over 50 food vendors have booths at the festival, most selling carnival-related American fare like corn dogs, pizza, deep fried pastries and cotton candy, but also more international choices like Thai, Cambodian, Caribbean barbecue, Latin American, Middle Eastern kebab and falafel pitas.

Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters, pioneer of the slow food movement, was recognized during the 2000 Solano Stroll's "Local Legacies on Parade."[15]

Political and financial issues Edit

Although the Solano Stroll continues the original objective of celebrating local entrepreneurship, the event has had a more political theme in the last decade, featuring social activism and get out the vote booths of a mostly liberal leaning. On election years, the festival falls two months before November polls.

During the 2004 festival, the Daily Cal reported that two anti-gay marriage protesters were yelled at and sprayed with silly string.[16]

In 2007, an anti-abortion protester was cited by police after spilling a pile of fetus pictures from a wheelbarrow onto the street. The same year, U.S. Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA-9) participated in the parade but left early due to excessive heckling by onlookers, apparently in relation to her sole "Nay" vote against AUMF following the attacks on September 11, 2001. In 2000, Lee was responsible for inducting the Solano Stroll into the Library of Congress' Local Legacies Project campaign.[12]

In addition to the politically related controversies, the event has recently been affected by the financial shake-ups of various Solano businesses, including long-time Stroll sponsor Andronico's, the upscale supermarket chain which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Andronico's first location opened on Solano Avenue in 1929 as "Andronico's Park and Shop".

Before the 2011 festival, the East Bay Express reported that live musicians would either take a pay cut or have to play for free due to the recession and lack of revenue generated from The Solano Avenue Association. The article reported that only two bands withdrew from the 2011 Solano Stroll, which was held on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and ran on a theme of "unsung heroes".[17]

See also Edit

Notes Edit

  1. ^ "Annual festival's theme a tribute to Sept. 11". Berkeley Daily Planet: 1. Autumn 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
  2. ^ "Community News: The Solano Stroll". Alameda County Board of Supervisors Community Events: 1. Autumn 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
  3. ^ "The Fairest of Them All: SF Bay Area Summer Festivals & Fairs". SF Parents: 1. Autumn 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
  4. ^ . Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  5. ^ Davis, Sally Ann (1982). National Directory of Shops/galleries/shows/fairs (page 271). Writer's Digest.
  6. ^ "BURNAM, Lisa - SFGate". SF Chronicle Obits: 1. Spring 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  7. ^ "Berkeley News, Chris Treadway, Berkeley Voice/West County Times, 9/12/2008, Solano Stroll A Local Institution, Accessed October 22, 2010". Ci.berkeley.ca.us. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  8. ^ "The Solano Stroll: How It All Began". Patch.com: 1. 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  9. ^ New West Volume 4, Issues 14-20 (page 145). New West Communications Corporation. 1979.
  10. ^ "Howdy Doody Time At Solano Parade / Buffalo Bob joins sidekick at street fair". SFGate - Collections: 1. 1996-09-09. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  11. ^ "Brown Alumni Magazine Obits - Shimon-Craig A. Van Collie". Brownalumnimagazine.com. 2011-12-23. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  12. ^ a b "Nomination of local legends for Solano Stroll still open". El Cerrito Wire: 1. Summer 2000. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  13. ^ a b c "Marc Biedermann (Blind Illusion, ex-Heathen, ex-Blue Oyster Cult) at the 2009 Solano Stroll". Youtube.com. 2009-09-24. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  14. ^ a b c d "Alphabet Soup at the 2006 Solano Stroll, featuring Jay Lane (of Primus, Sausage, Furthur, RatDog and the Charlie Hunter Trio)". Youtube.com. 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  15. ^ a b "Annual Solano Stroll Showcases Oddities' Parade". Archive.dailycal.org. 2000-09-11. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  16. ^ "Solano Stroll Sparks Streets". Archive.dailycal.org. 2004-09-13. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  17. ^ Swan, Rachel (2011-07-27). "Cut the Music, Bring the Noise at the Solano Stroll". East Bay Express: 1. Retrieved 2011-12-27.

A Brief History of the Solano Avenue Stroll

External links Edit

  • Solano Avenue Stroll website

solano, avenue, stroll, also, known, solano, stroll, annual, street, fair, held, second, sunday, september, solano, avenue, shopping, district, albany, berkeley, california, stretching, close, miles, long, bringing, between, attendees, single, been, called, ol. The Solano Avenue Stroll also known as the Solano Stroll is an annual street fair held on the second Sunday of September on the Solano Avenue shopping district of Albany and Berkeley California Stretching close to 2 miles long and bringing between 250 000 and 300 000 attendees in a single day it has been called the oldest and largest street festival in the San Francisco Bay Area 1 2 and the world s biggest block party 3 In 2001 the Library of Congress s American Folklife Center in Washington D C designated the festival as a National Local Legacy 4 source source source source source 2009 Solano Stroll video 09 13 2009 Contents 1 History 2 The Solano Stroll 2 1 Parade and grand marshals 2 2 Festival 2 3 Music 2 4 Cuisine 3 Political and financial issues 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External linksHistory EditThe Solano Stroll began in 1974 by the Thousand Oaks Merchant Association a small business guild started by Ira Klein and co headed by Lisa Burnham Klein owned and managed The Iris a Solano clothing and jewelry store formerly based on Shattuck Avenue 5 that sold dress goods made primarily by local fashion designers among the earliest including Laurel Burch Lisa Burnham nee Liesel Hirsch an Austrian national and Holocaust survivor 6 owned Northumbrian Antiques an interior design business on Solano from the 1950s to the 1970s Klein conceived the festival as both a thank you party to customers and to promote the avenue s family owned business community 7 According to a Patch com interview with son Gabe Klein the elder Klein s three creative influences included his childhood in New York City the culture of Telegraph Avenue while he attended UC Berkeley in the 1960s and his maternal cousin George Schindler a noted magician and film actor 8 Klein had been involved with the fair s planning promotion and organizing until closing his business in 1998 Event organizer Lisa Bullwinkel directed the event for 16 years from 1989 to 2005 Burnham died in 2001 in Berkeley and Klein in 2007 in Springfield Oregon Current Citizens for East Shore Parks president and former Albany mayor Robert Cheasty a civil attorney who runs a law firm on the avenue is a ranking organizer of the Solano Stroll being involved with the festival since 1984 and having served as the Solano Avenue Association s SAA president from 1989 to 1991 The first festival began on a Friday evening and included only the Thousand Oaks Berkeley portion of Solano Avenue before expanding to Albany a few years later and switching to Sunday By this time the Thousand Oaks Merchant s Association would become the Solano Avenue Association Initially an after hours reception for local businesses the fair would include attractions such as magician booths live bands street theatre jugglers and fire eaters by the late 1970s 9 Although the event has always been funded by Solano businesses larger sponsors have included Safeway Andronico s Mechanic s Bank BART as well as the city governments of Albany and Berkeley What would ve been the 47th in 2020 ended up going on hiatus until 2022 The Solano Stroll EditParade and grand marshals Edit The Solano Stroll begins with an 8am breakfast served at Memorial Park near Albany High School before the fair s parade begins at the Eastern end of Solano Avenue in Berkeley at 10am Since the 1980s a grand marshal has been chosen to head the parades previous leaders have included Buffalo Bob Smith of 1950 s NBC television show Howdy Doody in 1996 10 1972 Olympian and sports writer Craig Van Collie in 1998 11 sixties counterculture icon Wavy Gravy in 2000 12 and former Noah s Bagels CEO founder Noal Alper in 2010 whose namesake deli still has a location on Solano Avenue In addition to city politicians and personnel the parade also includes marching bands and cheerleaders from high schools across the Bay Area and various performance artists or dance troupes Festival Edit After the parade closes the street opens to pedestrians and remains closed to traffic until 6pm Various forms of entertainment include taiko belly dancing karate tournaments vintage car shows puppet shows clowns stilt walkers improvisational theater magicians face painting dunk tanks fun houses and most recently amusement rides Music Edit Local music groups in addition to school bands perform songs during the festival Styles have included jazz folk rock alternative rock Klezmer Scottish folk dance bluegrass hip hop R amp B soul zydeco roots rock and tribute cover Famous past acts at the Solano Stroll have included The Uptones Operation Ivy Rancid and Piranha during the 1980s and bands or creative members of Blue Oyster Cult 13 Blind Illusion 13 Heathen 13 Alphabet Soup Primus 14 The Charlie Hunter Trio 14 Furthur 14 RatDog 14 and Country Joe and the Fish during the 1990s and 2000s decade From the late 1980s onward band selection has been conducted via a jury process and fee decided by SAA members In 2000 Country Joe McDonald said of the fair It s like a picnic I see a lot of my friends which is great It s a much friendlier and nicer place You couldn t have had a Solano Stroll in the 60s young people are a lot smarter now 15 Cuisine Edit Over 50 food vendors have booths at the festival most selling carnival related American fare like corn dogs pizza deep fried pastries and cotton candy but also more international choices like Thai Cambodian Caribbean barbecue Latin American Middle Eastern kebab and falafel pitas Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters pioneer of the slow food movement was recognized during the 2000 Solano Stroll s Local Legacies on Parade 15 Political and financial issues EditAlthough the Solano Stroll continues the original objective of celebrating local entrepreneurship the event has had a more political theme in the last decade featuring social activism and get out the vote booths of a mostly liberal leaning On election years the festival falls two months before November polls During the 2004 festival the Daily Cal reported that two anti gay marriage protesters were yelled at and sprayed with silly string 16 In 2007 an anti abortion protester was cited by police after spilling a pile of fetus pictures from a wheelbarrow onto the street The same year U S Representative Barbara Lee D CA 9 participated in the parade but left early due to excessive heckling by onlookers apparently in relation to her sole Nay vote against AUMF following the attacks on September 11 2001 In 2000 Lee was responsible for inducting the Solano Stroll into the Library of Congress Local Legacies Project campaign 12 In addition to the politically related controversies the event has recently been affected by the financial shake ups of various Solano businesses including long time Stroll sponsor Andronico s the upscale supermarket chain which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Andronico s first location opened on Solano Avenue in 1929 as Andronico s Park and Shop Before the 2011 festival the East Bay Express reported that live musicians would either take a pay cut or have to play for free due to the recession and lack of revenue generated from The Solano Avenue Association The article reported that only two bands withdrew from the 2011 Solano Stroll which was held on the 10th anniversary of 9 11 and ran on a theme of unsung heroes 17 See also Edit nbsp San Francisco Bay Area portal nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Videos of Solano Stroll 2009 Notes Edit Annual festival s theme a tribute to Sept 11 Berkeley Daily Planet 1 Autumn 2011 Retrieved 2011 09 01 Community News The Solano Stroll Alameda County Board of Supervisors Community Events 1 Autumn 2011 Retrieved 2011 09 01 The Fairest of Them All SF Bay Area Summer Festivals amp Fairs SF Parents 1 Autumn 2011 Retrieved 2011 09 01 Berkeley News Main Page City of Berkeley CA Archived from the original on August 6 2009 Retrieved December 26 2011 Davis Sally Ann 1982 National Directory of Shops galleries shows fairs page 271 Writer s Digest BURNAM Lisa SFGate SF Chronicle Obits 1 Spring 2011 Retrieved 2011 12 27 Berkeley News Chris Treadway Berkeley Voice West County Times 9 12 2008 Solano Stroll A Local Institution Accessed October 22 2010 Ci berkeley ca us 2008 12 09 Retrieved 2011 12 27 The Solano Stroll How It All Began Patch com 1 2011 09 11 Retrieved 2011 12 27 New West Volume 4 Issues 14 20 page 145 New West Communications Corporation 1979 Howdy Doody Time At Solano Parade Buffalo Bob joins sidekick at street fair SFGate Collections 1 1996 09 09 Retrieved 2011 12 27 Brown Alumni Magazine Obits Shimon Craig A Van Collie Brownalumnimagazine com 2011 12 23 Retrieved 2011 12 27 a b Nomination of local legends for Solano Stroll still open El Cerrito Wire 1 Summer 2000 Retrieved 2011 12 27 a b c Marc Biedermann Blind Illusion ex Heathen ex Blue Oyster Cult at the 2009 Solano Stroll Youtube com 2009 09 24 Retrieved 2011 12 27 a b c d Alphabet Soup at the 2006 Solano Stroll featuring Jay Lane of Primus Sausage Furthur RatDog and the Charlie Hunter Trio Youtube com 2010 01 22 Retrieved 2011 12 27 a b Annual Solano Stroll Showcases Oddities Parade Archive dailycal org 2000 09 11 Retrieved 2011 12 27 Solano Stroll Sparks Streets Archive dailycal org 2004 09 13 Retrieved 2011 12 27 Swan Rachel 2011 07 27 Cut the Music Bring the Noise at the Solano Stroll East Bay Express 1 Retrieved 2011 12 27 A Brief History of the Solano Avenue StrollExternal links EditSolano Avenue Stroll website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Solano Avenue Stroll amp oldid 1149198869, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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