Mission and History:
The Avenues Street Fair is oneof Utah's premiere community celebrations, held annually on the second Saturday of September. This is an event planned and hosted by the Greater Avenues Community Council (GACC) to celebrate our unique, eclectic and historical community. Each year we hold the Fair on a different street to highlight the varied architecture and mini-neighborhoods of the Avenues area, one of the oldest residential neighborhoods of Salt Lake City. The Fair typically spans five blocks and features live entertainment at each end. Fair attendance is free to all. The Fair features and celebrates local talent and artistry. In addition, local food vendors, government agencies, non-profit organizations and small businesses have a presence at our event.
The Avenues Street Fair has its origins in the mid-1970s when a group of homeowners formed the Avenues Restoration Association and began holding house tours, antiques sales, tool borrowing events and parties on nearby lawns. The first street fair t-shirt depicted “God’s finger” (a la Michelangelo) touching the Avenues. Later, as the Fair developed and expanded, vendors were added, home tours were dropped (the Utah Heritage Foundation now known as Preservation Utah conducts those) and bands such as Joe Mescolino and Brown Baggers provided the entertainment. Police provided barriers to close off the streets, neighbors pitched in their garbage cans and electricity, LDS wards offered their restrooms and Bill Spencer at 8th Avenue Market offered good deals on soda and beer. These early events grew in to the Street Fair we know today.
Planning for the Fair begins each year months before, usually in March. Numerous permits are obtained from the City and County; booth applications are taken, a featured artist is selected, people’s art is solicited, the children’s parade is planned, the children's activity area is developed, recycle and trash bins, water and porta-potties and street signs are ordered; neighbors are contacted; bands are solicited to play music, all by teams of volunteers. It is truly an event that brings people together and builds community. Today the Street Fair remains a celebration of our homes, our art, our partnerships, and our neighborhood.
