Nights win Surf City over

Children lined up at an inflatable bounce house, crowds circled musicians playing guitar, and customers of all ages bought fresh strawberries and other fruits and vegetables from farmers’ market booths spanning three blocks of Main Street.

Balloons arched over the street, and plenty of pedestrians were wearing Mardi Gras beads, part of the night’s theme.

Yes, the scene could only have come from the popular weekly downtown street fair Surf City Nights. But there was little indication of a first anniversary.

“Really, it’s been a year?” resident Annie Katsoulas asked, munching on hot corn on the cob. “I hope they do it forever. The food, the music, it’s great.”

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.

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. 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 some weeks have been much better-attended than others, noted Connie Pedenko, executive director of the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District. 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 some 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.

These days the event boasts food booths whose offerings range from funnel cake to Peruvian fried rice, singers, kids’ activities, and booths for local businesses.

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 said 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.”

Diana Masters got it. She said she brings her daughter, 4-year-old Anna regularly.

“I don’t have to do dinner and there’s a lot here to keep her happy,” she said, pointing to the children doing crafts at the Huntington Beach Art Center booth.