Violence causes organizers to cancel popular festival
The organizers behind Oakland’s wildly popular First Fridays have canceled the November street festival because of after-hours violence following the October event.
A review of security measures is planned before the event will be relaunched.
“There are several reasons for (the cancellation),” the organizers said on their website. “But the driving reason is the violence which occurred after the most recent event, when two people shooting at each other injured five (including themselves). Although this happened three hours after Oakland First Fridays shut down and several blocks from our footprint, safety is something we take very, very seriously.”
The men were wounded during an uptown Oakland altercation that took place after midnight, hours after the Oct. 5 event ended but while attendees were lingering in the area, police said.
The once-a-month festival runs from 5 to 9 p.m. on Telegraph Avenue from West Grand Avenue to 27th Street. Originally an art crawl, the event has grown into an urban block party in the Uptown and KONO (Koreatown Northgate) districts, with vendor booths, food, music — and sometimes up to 20,000 attendees.
“During this hiatus,” the announcement went on to say, “the Oakland First Fridays team will be conducting a top-to-bottom review of our policies and procedures. We’ll be looking at new ways to increase safety, and addressing other issues raised during conversations with participants, local businesses and city officials in recent weeks. We plan to increase our community partnerships and engagements, review our security procedures with Oakland police, city officials and businesses in the surrounding area, and step up enforcement of the open-containers ban at the event.”
In a July 18 letter on the organizer’s site, Koreatown-Northgate business district President Joseph Jung acknowledged the need to work with law enforcement to help stem violence, stressing steps such as limiting areas where alcohol sales and consumption are permitted and punctual observation of its 5 to 9 p.m. hours.
Jung also cited the need to be aware of the negative effects that loitering in nearby streets can have on residents, and risks associated with carelessly leaving personal belongings in parked vehicles.
The November cancellation will not affect the previously scheduled Nov. 2 Oakland Art Murmur, which invites residents to visit art galleries and exhibitions across the city.
The Oakland First Fridays team members said they hope to make the festival a citywide event by creating partnerships with the business improvement districts ranging from Jack London Square to the Temescal neighborhood.
City leadership was aware of the move and responded positively.
“The Mayor’s office supports the organizer’s decision to take one month off to review safety protocols,” Oakland city spokesman Justin Berton said Thursday night. “First Friday has become an Oakland institution that celebrates our city’s artistic community. We look forward to the discussion to improve the event and attend a First Friday in the near future.”
Oakland City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, whose District 3 includes the street festival’s location, shared her approval of the decision: “I am looking forward to the stakeholders working with the Oakland Police Department to make sure the event remains a safe, vibrant part of Oakland’s arts and entertainment landscape,” she said.
“I think it’s reactionary to shut down the event,” said Sean Sullivan, owner of The Port Bar on Broadway. This month’s “violence was terrible, but the incident took place three hours after the event ended.”
Sullivan said the event doubles his customers and sales. He expects merchants to take a financial hit. “I know a lot of merchants, and their hard working staff on Broadway and Telegraph have come to depend on the new customers and revenue First Friday brings to Oakland.”
The event has had to handle previous episodes of violence, including a fatal February 2013 shooting, when 18-year-old Kiante Campbell died and three others, including a 17-year-old, were injured. Organizers included citywide moments of silence honoring Oakland gun-violence victims at the following event, on March 1.