Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood Assn.

Fremont Fest Turns 15 with Great Turnout

Oct 10, 2000

By Margaret Davis

Saturday, August 5, opened overcast, cool, and quiet, but as the thermometer pushed into the high 80s, and the free-form bicycle parade rolled up and down the main street, the 15th annual Fremont Fest drew hundreds of people out for a sun-baked day in the neighborhood.

By all accounts, the festival was a great success. What made a difference this year, according to Fremont Fest coordinator Byron Ady, was "really having a music focus for the first time, getting the horses back, and rekindling interest and enthusiasm for the event." He estimates that two-thirds of the businesses put on special activities for the occasion and that about 2,000 to 3,000 people came out to take part, whether it was browsing sidewalk sales, making chalk art, or watching any of the dozen bands playing live on two stages.

Meanwhile, at the Beaumont Wilshire Neighborhood Association table, Greg Olson won the raffle for the watercolor painting by Carol Sands, which features the Dutch Village Building at the corner of 41st and Fremont. Many festival goers bought postcards printed with the image, with proceeds benefiting the BWNA. (Postcards (five for $3) are for sale at all BWNA meetings or by calling 287-2419.)

Booth visitors also had the chance to browse pictures from the annual National Night Out picnic, which the BWNA hosted earlier in the week, and to check out information about past and future neighborhood projects, including the upcoming Beaumont Middle School landscape project and the Wilshire Park trail-repair party of last April.

Next Fremont Fest is August 4, 2001; mark your calendars!

To submit feedback about this year's Fremont Fest and to provide input for next year, call Byron Ady at 253-5031.