Bring on the Forest Fair!

“The cover charge that covers your back.” Buy a Girdwood Forest Fair T-shirt! The 2009 Forest Fair T-Shirt was designed by Mark Stewart of Anchorage. He’s a teacher of art in the Anchorage School District. Stewart’s design was chosen from a submission of 25 artists. T-shirts will be on sale for $18 and youth $15. Proceeds from the sale of T-shirts go towards fair expenses and to support local non-profit organizations. The Girdwood Forest Fair T-shirt booth is located by the Marlow Pavillion in the food booth section.

By Karen Garcia Turnagain Times Correspondent

Despite disruptive rowdiness in 2007 and complete cancellation in 2008, the Girdwood Forest Fair is back. Starting this Friday, July 3, the 34th annual Forest Fair will kick off at 11 a.m. The event will have several modifications from past fairs, including a heightened security presence and more family-friendly hours of operation. These changes are the result of backlash from the community to the underage drinking and illegal drug use that overwhelmed the event in 2007. Tommy O’Malley, a member of the Girdwood Forest Fair Committee, insists that the problems never stemmed from the fair itself. Rather, the issues with drinking, drugs and fighting were confined to the camping that has accompanied the festival for the past five years. In 2007, over 3,000 campers partied hard for two nights on a sandbar located in the middle of Glacier Creek. Complaints were registered by community members and volunteer security was so overwhelmed by the sheer amount of illegal activity that the 2008 fair was cancelled for fear of a repeat situation. This year, though, things will be different. For starters, the security expenses of the fair have quadrupled. “We used to spend about $7,000 in the past,” O’Malley said, “and I think it’s something between $25,000 and $30,000 now, and that’s just for security.” In addition to volunteers and local security, the outside firm Securitas Security Services USA has been hired out of Anchorage to help keep things at the fair under control. “They’re very expensive, but they’re very professional,” O’Malley said. According to O’Malley, there will be a 24-hour presence at the fair, with a heightened presence between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Local security and volunteers will help control traffic and monitor alcohol consumption. “The volunteers are going to work with Securitas,” he said. “The volunteers are locals and they know more about the sensibilities of the community and they know their way around much better.” Alterations in the camping regulations are also geared towards quelling illegal or disruptive activities. There is now a 500-person per night limit on the fenced-in campground, with alcohol and campfires prohibited in the area. Backpacks will be subject to searches. Another major reason this year’s Forest Fair should be considerably safer is the appointment of Girdwood resident Mike Opalka as the head of security. A former Alaska State Trooper, Opalka has extensive experience in the arena of community safety. “The emphasis this year is going to be heavily on security,” Opalka said. “That is why the Forest Fair Committee asked me to run it. I’m going to be the intermediary between security and contract security.” Opalka stated that the Securitas staff will be uniformed and present 24/7. He also said local volunteers will be wearing red security t-shirts, as they have in the past, and will be assisting with parking, patrolling the camping area, and controlling the alcohol consumption. There will also be local undercover police officers present to help curb underage drinking. “We will be concentrating our resources strictly in the Forest Fair area; we’re not going to be policing the valley,” Opalka said. Other than increased safety precautions, the Forest Fair Committee has taken other steps to help make the festival as pleasant and smooth running as possible. “Besides hiring security, we’ve shortened the hours and made it more family-friendly in general,” O’Malley said. While in previous years music would continue well past midnight, this year music will end at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday. The fair also has a telephone number to call if there are problems in individual neighborhoods and community members wish to alert security or register a complaint. “We’re doing everything we can to make this safe,” O’Malley said. The telephone number is The Girdwood Forest Fair is a free event that is run completely by volunteers. It operates from July 3 through July 5 this year and features a wide variety of live entertainment venues (see schedule). It also accommodates 140 booths, where local foods and Alaskan handmade crafts are sold. The fairgrounds are located at Mile 2.2 on the Alyeska Highway in the Girdwood Forest Fair Park. Limited parking is available at the Alyeska Resort Daylodge, with shuttle service provided for $1 each way. Camping is allowed with a permit, and is $25 per person, per night. The 4th of July parade begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The parade starts at the Alyeska Resort daylodge and ends at the fairgrounds. That portion of the highway will be shutdown during the parade for approximately one hour.