The 36th annual OB Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off on June 27 was a huge success despite some unexpected rain drops that failed to dampen festivities.
In fact, brief rainfall may actually have added to the experience, said Denny Knox, executive director of the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association (OBMA), the community’s business improvement district (BID).
“It was just cooler out — not cold — and I think people stayed longer,” said Knox, adding rain may actually have brought more people out.
“The crowd was constant all day and there were no significant issues,” added Knox.
It was the first time in the fundraising event’s 36-year history that it had ever rained.
“And it did it twice,” noted Knox, pointing out the rain was short-lived while adding, “Nobody panicked. It was just kind of fun. We’ve never had weather like that. We’ve had an earthquake before — but never rain.”
There was also another meteorological “first” at the street fair.
“We had a windy moment, a dustup, that came through the fair between 11 a.m. and noon,” Knox said. “We couldn’t see anything. It sure made everyone look up and try to figure out what was going on.”
The big “hit” of this year’s special event was the tribute band Kissed Alive, which Rock and Roll San Diego (RRSD) brought to the OB Street Fair to help make the event interactive musically.
“Everyone loved getting photographs with them, they were dressed perfectly and stayed in character the whole time,” said RRSD’s director Mark Langford. “They even performed songs with our ‘new’ student bands that we taught, and then got them up on stage and it was a hit.”
Langford added, OBMA told him that “people really enjoyed our presentation and had such a good time they asked if we would do it again next year, which of course we would be honored to do.”
OBMA’s Knox agreed that Kissed Alive were this year’s headliners at the street fest.
“They (RRSD) had the center of the street fair and they gave people music lessons on all different instruments and the Kiss impersonators were hilarious, they played all day and it was so much fun,” she said. “People really enjoyed the interactive part, taking a quick lesson, then playing a little ditty they’d learned. Rock and Roll San Diego is a member of ours, and their participation really contributed to a great atmosphere.”
Thousands of visitors turn out every year at the Ocean Beach Street Fair to enjoy food, drinks, chili, live music, art and great people-watching. The festival includes an oceanfront chili cook-off, vendor and food booths, artists alley, a beachside beer garden, live music and entertainment, family-friendly activities, carnival rides and games, art and the community mural project. At the chili cook-off on Saturday morning, 18 contestants delivered their best recipes to the judges and fairgoers. The Judge’s Choice winner was Michele Yamada and her crew from Ocean Dental Care. The People’s Choice winner was Brock Scott of Scott Brothers BBQ. This year’s theme was “It’s All About the Music,” focusing on music and entertainment. Knox said music and entertainment turned out to be a great one-two punch that brought out the best in fairgoers.
“People were really nice,” the OBMA director said. “All day everyone, even the volunteers, were saying how nice, and what a good mood, people were in. It’s always a great pleasure to do a special event where people are in a great mood.”
Event proceeds, noted Knox, which is OBMA’s biggest annual fundraiser, go toward funding worthy community causes.
“We raised enough money for this year’s fireworks and seed money for next year’s,” Knox said. “I think we’ll also have $5,000 to $10,000 we can spend on community beautification and repair projects. We have a lot of repairs in Ocean Beach on a daily basis.”
For more information, visit oceanbeachsandiego.com.