A fight between what ArtHop was and what it has become led to a sudden declaration by the city of Fresno to cancel all outdoor food and vendors at the August ArtHop.

While city officials and the president of the Downtown Fresno Partnership said it gives the city a chance to reorganize the event, vendors say the move was sudden and comes at great cost to their small businesses.

Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias said on Friday that ArtHop has become bigger than anyone expected. Because of that, the city won’t allow the outdoor vendors and food trucks that have become synonymous with the monthly events held throughout downtown Fresno and the Tower District. ArtHop’s future will be more indoors, Arias said.

“ArtHop has exponentially grown from its original intent of indoor art galleries to a street festival that requires a different level of city support and organization from the organizing groups,” Arias told GV Wire. “By bringing this back to its indoor venues, with the peak of the summer heat, it’s going to allow us time to figure out what we have to do next to provide sufficient support.”

City officials said that code enforcement officers would be present at ArtHop to enforce the ban on food trucks and vendors.

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ArtHop hosts 15,000 people each event, estimated Elliott Balch, president of the Downtown Fresno Partnership.

The event has moved beyond just Fulton Street.

Sidewalks have become crowded and Fresno’s police resources have become stretched thin, Arias said. DJs pop up around downtown as have musical groups. On the more illicit side, reports of vendors selling illegal drugs and alcohol arise regularly, multiple sources told GV Wire.

Arias said that such illicit activities can be found around most any event in Fresno.

By not allowing outdoor vendors in August, Arias said the city can take the time to figure out how to be more organized come September.

ArtHop began as an indoor event and it continues to be one, said Lilia Gonzalez Chavez, executive director of the Fresno Arts Council. While that group manages the indoor events up and down Fulton Street and Van Ness Avenue, they don’t manage the outdoor events.

“We have observed it and see its pros and cons but what happens outside of venues is not the essence of ArtHop,” Gonzalez Chavez said. “Our major interest is that people have the opportunity to engage in safe and healthy activities.”

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Sofia Sanchez sells vintage clothes, accessories, and toys for Bad Girls Market. She has been selling at ArtHop for five years now. She acknowledged that ArtHop has changed, but said the city has never reached out to vendors to fix the issue. Friday’s announcement came as a surprise, Sanchez said, and left she and other vendors “pissed.”

During the news conference, many attendees vocally opposed the decision.

“I don’t get not making the vendors a part of it,” Sanchez said. “We just all found out that they were doing this yesterday. Why is that? And why is that it’s less than two weeks from ArtHop and we’re barely finding out that it’s not going to be a thing. And now we have to arrange for indoor places in here when most of the businesses close at six.”

Mike Osegueda, president of Fresno Street Eats, said he would be patient with the one month reset because he recognizes that things need to get cleaned up.

ArtHop is the biggest night of the year for the dozens of vendors and food trucks that show up, said Osegueda, who added that his members pay for permits, insurance, and security for all of their events.

“I think it’s unfair to punish the people like Street Eats who is doing everything right,” Osegueda said. “Just don’t mess this up because you’re hurting a lot of small businesses in order to this. So make sure it’s worth it.”

Arias Wants to Bring Vendors Indoors. Who Will Take That On?

Turning ArtHop into a sanctioned event would price many out of participating, Arias said. Considering all the licensing and permits, it would cost $100,000, he estimated. That could mean $500 for vendors, few of whom make that much, he said.

Historically, the Arts Council promoted the galleries and their spaces, designating official ArtHop venues.

Gonzalez Chavez said the Arts Council will continue management of ArtHop.

“ArtHop will continue to be in galleries and art venues as it always has been,” Gonzalez Chavez said. “We have no interest in managing a street fair. If the (Downtown Fresno Partnership) wants to manage a street fair, we support them.”

Arias envisions DFP taking a more active role with the vendors.

Being made up of dues-paying property owners, Balch said it’s only natural for those property owners to open their doors to vendors.

They’ve already begun outreach to tell people they’re going to do things differently on Aug. 1.

“If you’re a restaurant, if you’re a store and you’d like to have a DJ, have a band, have an artist going, have vendors inside your space, we want to be able to make those connections,” Balch said.

Balch didn’t see property owners charging vendors to come inside. The relationship would be beneficial to both.

Arias disagreed.

“There is always a dollar amount,” he said.

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Sanchez said she doesn’t like doing indoor events.

“I don’t do them a lot because it’s really hard to get people indoors because people want to be outside, mostly when it’s later in the day, it’s really not that bad,” Sanchez said.

Osegueda said he hears from people who say it gives Fresno the big city feel.

And there’s no reason why the city can’t have both indoor and outdoor events. He said the idea of a new generation coming in and making ArtHop their own is beneficial to downtown Fresno.

“If they’ve decided that they’re energetic and they’re excited about their city and they’re into it, I think that’s wonderful,” Osegueda said. “And if we can fine tune that, even better.”