L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 www.italoamericano.com 6 When "Upper Grant" Was The Name of A Street Fair Upper Grant Avenue Street Fair, North Beach Fair, and most recently, North Beach Festival, have all been used to describe the two day happening that occurs every year in June on the streets of San Francisco's beloved North Beach. Throngs of residents and visi- tors alike flock to this historic event which has been accurately described by fans as "the ulti- mate passeggiata." Daniel Macchiarini, son of Peter Macchiarini, founder of the Upper Grant Avenue Street Fair, explains the fair in this way: Today what we call the North Beach Festival began in 1954 as the Upper Grant Avenue Street Fair. It was the progenitor of all the street fairs, festivals and streetscape events that exist in this country today. It was one of the earliest counter-culture iconoclastic artistic events originating in San Francisco. And it was the creation of local merchants and artists and had great com- munity support and participa- tion. Peter Macchiarini (1909-2001) was a jewelry designer, sculptor, metal artist and photographer who established his studio and gallery on Grant Avenue in North Beach in the 1930s. While reflecting on his career, Macchiarini recounted that he helped organize, and exhibited in, the first San Francisco outdoor art festivals in Hotaling Place and the Ferry building in 1939, 1940 and 1941. In the early 1950's Peter was on the committee that orga- nized the Upper Grant Avenue Street Fair which, he explains, was the first merchant sponsored art fair in the Bay Area. Peter gathered a group of his neigh- borhood artist friends at his stu- dio with the idea of having a street fair. "People will come, we'll display our stuff, sell it for a fair price, and everyone will have a good time." In a 1999, Telegraph Hill Dwellers conducted an interview of Peter as part of their Oral History Project. In that inter- view, Macchiarini said of the fair's early years: "I didn't really start the Street Fair by myself. There were 5 others. I wish I had the photo- graph. I have photographs, but I can't put my hands on them. It was Lloyd Demrich, Rhoda Pack, Gretchen McAllister, Herman (the fellow that had the bead shop) — there were about 5 or 6 of us that did start the street fair. It wasn't a one man opera- CatHeriNe aCCarDi tion. It was a nice little street fair that lasted Saturday and Sunday, and it was very charming. People came from all over San Francisco, and we expanded to two blocks and finally we expanded to three blocks." And thus began the first Upper Grant Avenue Street Fair in 1953. Upper Grant is where it stayed until 1984 when its over- whelming popularity continued to draw such large numbers of people that the venue was expanded to adjacent streets and the name was changed first to the North Beach Fair, and finally to the North Beach Festival. The May 1956 issue of the Telegraph Hill Bulletin (Telegraph Hill Dwellers' newsletter at that time now called The Semaphore) describes the day in this way: "The third annual Grant Avenue Street Fair was a great success, and chair- man, Peter Macchiarini, expressed his thanks to the mem- bers of the Dwellers who helped with the decoration. In wonder- ful weather, some 30,000 people milled through the block-long exhibit of the work of 66 artists while being entertained by folk dancers and singers." To this day, local artists, musi- cians, and the treasures of "Little Italy" never fails to draw thou- sands of people. This year, over 125 art and crafts booths, 20 gourmet food booths, live enter- tainment, and the blessing of the animals in the Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi (610 Vallejo Street) will be offered once again. Multiple stages will pre- sent live music throughout each day and "beverage gardens" will quench thirsts. Undeniably there have been changes to the fair that began six decades ago, but by whatever name we want to call it, a long and colorful history has made it one of the oldest urban street fairs in the world, and, one of the best ways to experience sum- mer in The City. Participate in a San Francisco tradition. Attend the 60th Annual North Beach Festival. June 14th & June 15th 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Locations: Grant Avenue, between Columbus and Filbert, Columbus Avenue between Broadway and Green and Vallejo and Green Streets between Grant Avenue and Columbus. This event is free and open to the public. In an upcoming article for L'Italo-Americano, Catherine Accardi will feature the remark- able work of Peter Macchiarini in greater detail. Watch for this article highlighting the career of a great pioneer of American modernist studio jewelry. The North Beach Festival formerly known as Upper Grant Avenue Street Fair or North Beach Fair A "Madonnaro" drawing with chalk A view of North Beach during the festival

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