From its humble beginnings at Clay Park, the Rolando Street Fair has grown into a premiere community-based event in San Diego. On Sunday, March 19, the 25th annual festival will take place.
This year’s event, taking place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will feature a variety of activities and amenities for guests of all ages. There will be free live music for everyone to enjoy, as well as more than 100 vendors selling clothes, jewelry, food and drinks.
Rolando Street Fair Producer Kirstin Broome is excited to appeal to a wide range of residents. 
“There’s something for everyone at the street fair,” Broome said. “People really enjoy it. It’s a great time to come out and spend time with your friends and family, your neighbors, and meet new people.”
The beer garden will also make its return, putting a spotlight on local breweries.
Event will include music, food and fun for residents and visitors alike
Corbin O’Reilly, the owner of local BBQ and brew shop CorbinsQ and Tap Truck, is looking forward to stepping up the event in 2023.
“I’m upping staff, equipment and our plan of attack so people can be ready to listen to great music and hang out in the beer garden,” O’Reilly said.
For the younger guests, a kid’s zone includes inflatables, games, arts & crafts and climbing walls. For $5, children can enjoy all the activities all day long.
One of the other draws of the Rolando Street Fair are the variety of local businesses on display.
Jeanie Burkhardt sells homemade dresses and farmer’s market bags among other items for the business LucysRoom. This marks the 10th year that they’ve been a vendor for the Rolando Street Fair. Burkhardt expressed her enjoyment of the festival year-by-year. 
“This community fair celebrates the character of the neighborhood of Rolando,” Burkhardt said. “Locals are gracious and those who have traveled to visit are charmed with the friendly vibe. The music stage is the heartbeat of the festival as there is usually a fantastic blend of blues and funk.”
Five local bands will perform live music this year: Buck-O-Nine, Kid Tributes, Lady Dottie & the Diamonds, Sara Petite and The Sleepwalkers. The bands will play throughout the festival, from 10:15 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Even with all of the bells and whistles of the event, Rolando Community Council President Doug Lister reiterated the most important aspect of the street fair.
“I always tell people that Rolando is a great place to live because we got all these things,” Lister said. “But when it comes down to it we wouldn’t have any of these things if we didn’t have incredible people.”
For more information on this year’s festival, visit the Rolando Community Council’s official website: rolandocc.org/rolando-street-fair/schedule/.
(Courtesy photos)
Editor’s note: This article was provided by Noah Lyons. Lyons is an undergraduate student studying journalism at San Diego State University. More of his work can be found here: https://thedailyaztec.com/staff_name/noah-lyons/.
