A new plan in downtown Fresno would allow street drinking for regular events around the Brewery District, including possibly for ArtHop.

On Thursday, a proposal for a new “Entertainment District” will go before Fresno City Council.

With a special permit, event organizers around the Brewery District can allow patrons to take alcoholic beverages from out of a brewery or bar and into the street, where they can be buy food or listen to music, said Elliott Balch, president and CEO of the partnership.

Balch said they modeled the plan after what other cities have done under state law. And while it wasn’t created with any specific event in mind, ArtHop is a possibility, he said.

“The idea is if we’re going to have events in the street, better to allow the businesses that are there to more fully participate and for folks to be able to get drinks and bring them into the street where there might be food, there might be music, other stuff going on,” Balch said.

Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias said the opening of Fulton Street was designed to accommodate outdoor events.

“I anticipate that interest and attendance will continue to grow, especially as the use of our city-owned stadium has become more cost-prohibitive for many community events,” Arias said.

Senate Bill 969 Allows Entertainment Districts

Under Senate Bill 969, cities can create Entertainment Districts to spur more events. San Francisco became the state’s pilot city in early 2025, and since then it’s been used in Long Beach, Sacramento, and Porterville, Balch said.

Balch said he brought together Brewery District businesses over the past few months to craft the ordinance.

If approved by city council, the partnership would then take the idea to businesses in the area to see how to implement it, including for Art Hop.

The new district would encompass the Brewery District three different ways. One “footprint” would be limited to Fulton Street from Mono to Inyo streets, another would include the alleyways and portions of Broadway Street, and another would be on Kern Street, including Homerun Alley near Chukchansi Stadium.

After getting a drink, a person could leave with an approved container that has a special sticker on it showing where it came from. California alcohol rules do not allow people to take drinks from bar to bar.

Mike “Oz” Osegueda, organizer of Fresno Street Eats, said it gives the Brewery District a distinct feel for the city, similar to New Orleans.

“The Brewery District is the coolest block in Fresno and I think this would really cement that,” Osegueda said.

Keeping Brewery District Safe

For more than 13 years, street drinking has been allowed at FresYes Fest. Osegueda, who organizes the event, said that for the most part, it has been kept pretty safe — not much different than other events throughout the country.

The hardest part is making sure people know the rules, he said.

Balch said given past security issues with parts of ArtHop, he’s not sure what the first event would be. Having food or entertainment nearby may deter some more unruly guests.

When the partnership took over the “street party” aspect of Art Hop — called the Fulton Street Hop — they delegated duties to more uniformly apply security and oversight of the event.

Osegueda said half of FresYes Fest events have been incident free. Security maintains perimeters and ensures people follow the rules. The fights that do occur get quickly dealt with, he said.

“I know that people are not rushing to get this done and trying to do it the right way,” Osegueda said.