By Joyce Peng
The management of Monrovia’s Friday Night Family Street Fair has changed from Family Festival Productions, Inc. (FFPI) to LA Partyworks, Inc. The fair will still be run by FFPI until June 30, when its contract with the city ends. July 3 is the first fair run by the new management, LA Partyworks. FFPI has been asked by Arcadia to do a Friday night fair.
According to the city staff presentation at the April 21 Monrovia City Council meeting, FFPI has 25 years of experience with Monrovia, and has been operating the fair for 22 years. LA Partyworks has been putting together large-scale events for 28 years.
Also, a RFP committee of nine members from several city departments was formed to evaluate and select the contractor. Councilmember Becky Shevlin was originally one of the two City Council members, but removed herself from the RFP committee due to a possible business conflict. New Mayor, then Councilmember Tom Adams also excused himself from discussions because of a business conflict.
This spring, the RFP committee unanimously agreed that LA Partyworks would be the recommended fair operator. LA Partyworks and FFPI finished as finalists over the two other applicants, Newport Diversified and Oscar G. De Leon and were re-interviewed. MOTAB unanimously backed the committee’s decision, and later the City Council ultimately chose LA Partyworks. According to Brian Germany, vice chair of MOTAB and RFP committee member, LA Partyworks was chosen because it provided and presented enhancements to the fair. Aforementioned enhancements would include new stages, equipment and signage as well as improved power facilities, Monrovia city manager Oliver Chi elaborated.
LA Partyworks market manager David Nemetz said his company wishes to contribute organic produce to the fair and hopes to improve marketing via its new Monrovia Street Fair website (www.monroviastreetfair.com). “Customers should keep an eye on the website for any update on activities,” he noted. An online interactive map featuring vendors and activities for tweens were also suggested.
Dave Gayman, owner of Family Festival Productions Inc., claimed the RFP process was flawed, explaining that one individual excused herself yet the committee still continued on with the process. According to him, not enough input from store owners was provided. He also said the new operator had never run a show of the size of Monrovia’s fair before.
“It’s astonishing that a long-time operator of a show that’s turned very successful would lose to a rookie for no apparent reason,” Gayman commented.
Gayman has high hopes for the Arcadia festival, and mentioned his company received good support from the community. On Tuesday night, the Arcadia City Council approved the festival in Arcadia, and the city’s contract with Gayman starts on July 1. Gayman mentioned the city likes what his company does and he expects to start managing the fair on July 3.
According to Germany, the impact of the new fair on the vendors will be that vendors will be more successful.
On the other side, vendors had become anxious when they first heard about the change in management, Pam Fitzpatrick noted. Community members were also concerned, but this anxiety can be seen in a good light. Fitzpatrick explained that the anxiety shows the fair’s enormous popularity and the care people have for it.
“The Friday Night Street Fair is great PR for the city,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s the reason why some businesses and people move here. Because of that, Old Town Monrovia is so vibrant. There is less than 7 percent vacancy rate in Old Town. It’s the lowest it’s been in years.”
Fitzpatrick voiced that she was terribly disappointed that the city lost its original producer and wished FFPI all the love in the world. But she emphasized that the Monrovia fair is still here and is looking forward to its continued success.
