After a night of mayhem at the April 2 ArtHop, the Downtown Fresno Partnership says it has key changes in store for May.

A new permit held by the partnership means that for the first time the event’s disparate attractions will be united, said the group’s president and CEO Elliott Balch.

He said the “Fulton Street Hop” would be a collaboration between organizations long familiar with ArtHop.

By dividing up leadership amongst vendors, food trucks, and artists, the event can close security gaps that allowed a stabbing and a massive brawl to occur in April, Balch said.

“It’s a more complete vision for a street that’s got lots of eyes on it. That’s the key to safety. That’s the key to the feeling of safety,” he said.

Downtown Partnership Divides Up Duties

The partnership involving the Fresno Arts Council, Hella Fresno, the Bad Kids Club, Alley in the Valley, and Fresno Street Eats will spread out ArtHop’s different attractions on Thursday, May 7.

Fresno Street Eats is in charge of coordinating food trucks at the Brewery District and at the Cultural Arts District Park.

The duo behind Hella Fresno would, along with the Fresno Arts Council, work with Fresno artists. Bad Kids Club and Alley in the Valley will work with vendors and performers.

Mike “Oz” Osegueda, president of Fresno Street Eats, said it’s a good plan with everyone focusing on their specialties.

“Having a larger group of people all working toward the same goal is a good next chapter for this,” Osegueda said.

Available Leadership for ArtHop

After street vendors were reunited with the formal ArtHop event, the lack of any official presence in large stretches of Fulton Street helped contribute to crime on ArtHop, said Fabio Linares, organizer with Bad Kids Club, a vintage clothing vendor and collaborative.

He said at the April ArtHop, a DJ playing near the Social Security Building went well past 9 p.m. — the event cutoff.

If organizers had followed the rules, he said he doubts the fight and the stabbing would have happened.

“That’s kind of why I’m in support of what the partnership is doing, what the Arts Council is doing,” Linares said.

For May, Linares will spread vendors between Inyo and Tulare streets, expanding from the normal 20 to anywhere from 50 to 100, he said.

He said people know his face and know that when there is an issue in that area, they can turn to him.

“There needs to be areas where there is someone in terms of leadership and in term of questions, et cetera,” Linares said. “I think that’s what the partnership and the Arts Council — I know that’s what they realize.”

Safety Goes Beyond a Police Presence

Days after the April 2 stabbing and brawl downtown, along with a stabbing in River Park Shopping Center, Fresno Police Chief Mindy Casto held a news conference announcing a crime sweep.

In addition to seizing a cache of weapons and making dozens of arrests, police arrested six suspects in connection to the two stabbings.

Casto also said increased police presence at ArtHop would help counter any fear created by the events.

“It’s not just the stabbings, it’s the fear created by those stabbings,” Casto said.

Safety goes beyond a police presence, though, said Balch.

The footprint of the event will create clear sightlines for police and security, he said. Small details such as keeping garbage cans empty throughout the night plays a role in the perception of organization.

He said for ArtHop to be successful, people need to feel safe.

“That means not only security, but having spaces filled, and even keeping trash cans empty,” Balch said.