Surf City Nights turns 1

When Surf City Nights first came to Main Street in March 2007, it cost $8,000 a night, was expected to end after three months, and nobody knew if anyone would come. A year later, a much-tweaked festival has proven its worth, observers said.

The one-year anniversary of the farmers’ market and street fair comes Tuesday night with a Mardi Gras theme and all the food and entertainment it normally offers, said Connie Pedenko, executive director of the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District.

Surf City Nights has fulfilled the objectives set for it when planners came up with it in the first place, said Nova Punongbayan, a project manager with the city economic development department. Some nights have brought more than 9,000 people, she said. Those goals included bringing more people downtown during the off season, bringing more families into the mix of who comes to Main Street, and increasing sales nearby.

“There’s a lot more foot traffic, and improvement in terms of the sales,” Punongbayan said. “One of the things we wanted to do is bring in more kids. You’re seeing strollers, and you see kids lined up at all the entertainment we bring in for them.”

But Pedenko noted that some weeks were much better-attended than others. Fewer people are willing to come out during wind and rain, she said.

“There has been measurable improvement,” Pedenko said. “But there is no doubt it is weather-driven.”

While many were skeptical when Surf City Nights debuted, many business owners have been won over. The economic development department used to hold “Wednesday morning quarterbacking” meetings to take concerns, but they stopped once complaints faded away, Punongbayan said.

Much of the organizational job is done by the Business Improvement District, which pays for half of the $2,200 bill each week. Officials cut costs by getting new vendors, convincing police they didn’t need as much of a presence for the event’s well-behaved crowds, and have constantly tried new things to draw more crowds, Pedenko said.

The near future has innovations in store as well, she said. A local music school will have a booth with some flashy activities attached.

“We’re going to be starting to hold a ‘Huntington Beach Idol’ show,” she said. “It’ll allow our local people with talent to be able to find a little audience.”

But much of Pedenko’s efforts will be going toward looking for sponsors, as the city’s financial support is expected to run out after September. Verizon, Starbucks, and local restaurants have sponsored the event before, but Pedenko says it will be a lot of work to draw more corporate interest.

“I don’t think the potential sponsors we’re reaching out to realize what we have here,” she said. “Unless they come and see for themselves what we’re trying to tell them about Surf City Nights, they don’t get it either.”

As for tonight, it’s the second Mardi Gras night and the beginning of higher turnout with warm weather, Pedenko said.

“We’re going to give out beads and some masks,” she said. “The Kiwanis club will be there painting faces. The music is all themed ‘French flair.’ We hope for the best. We had a beautiful night last Tuesday.”

Surf City Nights is held 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays, in the first three blocks of Main Street between Pacific Coast Highway and Orange Avenue..