The Ocean Beach Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off Festival drew about 70,000 people last year, according to police estimates, so it may be hard to believe that the event kicked off 31 years ago with just a pile of T-shirts and a visionary dream for a fireworks display. In 1980, Mike James and his four brothers were running James Gang Graphics, a design and printing shop in Ocean Beach, and he had recently taken on the role of president of the newly formed Merchant’s Association (now known as the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association). James and his brothers, as well as other local business owners like John Small of the Sunshine Co. Saloon and Denny Knox, now the executive director of the OB MainStreet Association, were looking for ways to draw more customers to the quiet coastal area. “At the time, there weren’t very many customers coming down to Ocean Beach, so it was a pretty bleak picture for many of the merchants down here,” Knox said. James wanted to bring back the fireworks show that had once dazzled visitors at the end of Ocean Beach Pier. The problem was, there was no money for the event. Tapping into the family’s entrepreneurial spirit, James came up with the idea to sell T-shirts, designed and printed by James Gang Graphics, to advertise the revival of the fireworks display — which ironically wouldn’t happen unless the shirts were sold. They raised $5,000 that year, enough to fund the fireworks show and launch one of the most popular community events in the area. In 1983, organizers added a street fair to the mix, pulling together a few stages for entertainment, a beer garden and a bucking bronco ride, James said. Organizers continued to build the event year after year, first inviting vendors to participate, then instituting the wildly-popular chili cook-off event, and eventually implementing the annual mural-painting project in Artists’ Alley, which was the brainchild of another James brother, Rich, who passed away recently. Mike James and his brother, Pat, are impressed with what the fair has become. “I don’t think we ever thought it would attract as many people as it does now,” Mike James said. “It really takes so many people from the community to make this a success, and I’m amazed that many of those people continue on and on.” The sentiment is shared by Pat. “I’m just excited to see that it is still a tradition in OB,” said Pat James.