By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
The Girdwood Forest Fair Committee decided to cancel this year’s fair citing security and safety concerns, specifically a public campground at Glacier Creek. Last year the campground swelled to nearly 2,000 campers, mainly young people between the ages of 16 and 22. Drugs and alcohol were prevalent in the campground and illegal camp fires were also a problem.
In the end, the committee agreed the campground was a volatile situation that was growing out of control, leading to their decision to cancel what would have been the 33rd Annual Forest Fair.
“This difficult decision is based on the realization that while the fair in itself is a success, the activities that occur outside the event present an unsafe environment for the community at large,” it was stated in a pubic letter released by the Forest Fair Committee.
The committee polled and interviewed some 30 to 40 people and fielded comments on the website MySpace to gain an understanding of the number of campers that might have showed up this year and their intentions.
“It was looking like no matter what we did, short of throwing the National Guard at them, they were going to come down from wherever they were,” said Jay Bell, Event Specialist for the Forest Fair Committee. “We weren’t really willing to put on that kind of fair. We really want to keep it a family fair.”
Bell said comments posted on MySpace were accusatory, blaming the committee for “ruining our party.”
“That’s when we got the indication that we had to cancel the event,” Bell said. “Taking away camping wouldn’t be enough.”
The campground was nothing new to Forest Fair. Campers have used the Glacier Creek area, located a short walking distance from the fair entrance, since 1989. Usually 50-100 campers would show up and camp there for free, but last year when a camping fee was collected, 850 campers paid; however the number of campers was estimated at twice that amount.
“Two years ago we got an indication that this could turn into another Talkeetna Blue Grass camping party,” Bell said.
It was not an easy decision for the committee to cancel the event so close to the summer season—the fair is held the first weekend of July. A special work session was held at the end of April and members of the Forest Fair Committee met with Girdwood Board of Supervisors as well as representatives from the fire department and state Troopers Girdwood post. The GBOS recommended that the fair be scaled back from a three-day event to a two-day event, closing down at 8 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday. The fair stayed open from 11 a.m. until midnight Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. After much discussion, the GBOS approved a permit for a two-day event with the earlier closing hours.
“We could have renegotiated and said that the plan would not work for us, but we were running out of time,” said Terri Adkins Forest Fair Committee Public Affairs and Art Director. “We need to go back to the drawing board and decide whether it should be a two-day for three-day event. That plan will include community involvement. We’re a committee to handle a fair, we’re not a committee to handle security outside the fair. We will need help from the community to do it.”
Security at the fair has always been conducted by volunteers, but Adkins said the committee now believes paid professionals must police the event. Paid security is, however, an expensive proposition. The fair is mainly funded by the Beer Garden and T-shirt sales, which is not enough money to cover added security costs. But Adkins said, no matter what, the fair will always remain free.
“We will never charge a fee to get into Forest Fair,” she said. “It’s the best free fair in Alaska, featuring handmade arts and crafts. It’s really a celebration of the arts, crafts, music and great food.”
With that said, the committee needs to address the three most pressing issues for the fair to continue next year: closing down the campground, security concerns and costs, and scaling back the hours and days of the fair, all issues that could not be addressed this year and consequently lead to its cancellation.
“We’re going to work over the next nine months or so for a more solid plan,” Adkins said. “One that will provide a safe environment for the community, but a great Forest Fair. That’s our goal.
Meanwhile, the short notice of cancellation of the fair has left vendors and artists alike with no place to go and a void in their pocket books. Many relied on the event as an important venue to make some money in the short summer season. The thousands of visitors that come to Girdwood for the three-day event are also a boost to the local economy, patronizing local restaurants and businesses.
Judd Crosby, 37, who owns the Silvertip Grill, a small restaurant in downtown Girdwood, said he came to Girdwood 15 years ago because of Forest Fair.
“Coming from Las Vegas, it was nice to see a community that was so well connected and cares about things, and throws a party in the wilderness to have a great time,” he said.
Despite the absence of a fair this year, Crosby said he will try make a positive out of a negative situation.
“I’m still going to have music at my restaurant,” he said. “I’m going try to capitalize on it because people are still going to come to town that weekend, so I’m going to have music throughout the day and a pig roast.”
Karen Montague, 33, has attended Forest Fair for seven years selling her popular crochet hats. For Montague, Forest Fair has always been an important venue for her professionally.
“It is important to me, hugely important,” she said. “A lot of my identity came from Forest Fair. I think that if the community feels they want Forest Fair, we need take some responsibility for it as a community. I really feel like a lot of people felt Forest Fair should take on all the responsibility for the town, and I don’t think that’s fair.”
Tim Cabana, Chairman of the Girdwood Board of Supervisors, said he would like to see Forest Fair return to the family event it used to be in past years.
“People have been coming down here to drink and party and that’s not why we’ve had it,” he said. “Maybe we can open some eyes and get it straightened out, but the liability issue was getting to huge. Something bad was going to happen.”
The decision now is in the hands of the Forest Fair Committee and the community as a whole to decide the future of the fair. In the meantime, Girdwoodians can get involved this year during the annual Forest Fair clean-up party. Despite the fact there will be no fair, this year’s party will be held the last weekend in June.
“We’ve had hundreds show up from the community,” said Adkins. “We do a lot of raking and sweeping, and we fully intend to have our party this year to clean up the park, and we hope to still have the Forest Fair vibe and keep that tradition going.”