Lifelong Arroyo Grande residents Krista Bandy, Laura Beth Amy, and Mindy Calmenson felt the pangs of missing out on canceled Halloween, Christmas, and Strawberry Festival activities in their hometown’s downtown.
Reeling from the pandemic and a relatively inactive Arroyo Grande Village Improvement Association, the group that previously hosted festivities, the city’s economic hub became quieter starting in 2020. But with Bandy, Amy, and Calmenson, the buzz is about to return under the wing of their nonprofit Arroyo Grande Village Association (AGVA).
“There was a village association before us, and they kind of fizzled out into nothing. They used to throw a lot of community events,” Amy said. “So we thought it would be great to bring them back.”
The Village is Arroyo Grande’s historic downtown quarter filled with restaurants, bars, eclectic stores, and the weekly farmers market. It’s one of the strongest tourist magnets for the city. Now, AGVA is gearing up for Halloween in the Village, where the community can go trick or treating from 3 to 5 p.m.
“We fundraised through residents and people in the area to bring back Halloween. We have to shut down the street and have police and all sorts of things to be able to do it,” Bandy said. “It usually brings hundreds of people down here. … We love it.”
Early fundraising for the nonprofit has been successful, especially since AGVA was only established two months ago. All three founding members are local businesswomen, with Bandy, Amy, and Calmenson involved with Village Kids, Humdinger Brewery, and Rooster Creek Tavern, respectively. Their nearly 30 years in Arroyo Grande and their business and social media acumen quickly brought in donations from residents exceeding their $6,000 goal.
“We don’t really know the total amount they’ll charge us for street closure. Whatever is beyond what they charge us, we’ll donate candy to businesses,” Bandy said.
That’s not all for AGVA. On Nov. 5, the nonprofit’s going to host the first Arroyo Grande Beer and Wine Festival. From noon until 4 p.m., patrons can enjoy drinks from 50 local breweries and wineries, bites from two food trucks, and tunes from Arroyo Grande-based musicians. Purchase tickets at agbeerandwinefest.eventbrite.com. This event is a fundraiser where proceeds will go to hosting Christmas in the Village.
“Our goal is to create these events that are financially motivating to do other events in the future and bring fun things to do down here,” Calmenson said.
AGVA’s other goal is to re-create the Strawberry Festival. When the trio was growing up in the South County city, the fruit-filled celebration was limited to Branch Street. But times have changed.
“I was a vendor there for six years,” Bandy said. “It was a great event, but then every year it kept getting more commercialized.”
Bandy and Calmenson said that most of the vendors at the Strawberry Festival came from out of state, shuttling from one fair to another selling their goods.
“It was never handmade,” Calmenson said. “Our biggest thing is to give opportunities to local people the chance to showcase their art, and getting back to the root of it: strawberries.”
AGVA is also set to go beyond event hosting. Village beautification was a large reason for starting the group. They want to focus on areas that don’t get much cleaning attention, like the parking lots and the creekbed that runs behind a lot of businesses.
“The city doesn’t have enough manpower to manage the Village. We have monthly Village meetings and a lot of the business owners had suggested to do a cleanup where one business would host it a month,” Bandy said. “The city would provide everything that’s needed, like trash bags, vests, and trash grabbers. We haven’t started that yet but will soon.”
Fast fact
• The San Luis Obispo Instrumental Music Boosters Association will host the 15th annual holiday tree and wreath sale from Nov. 1 to 17. Browse and choose from a selection of Douglas and Noble firs, and wreaths with juniper, pinecones, and berries. Orders can be picked up at SLO High School on Dec. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or delivered curbside in SLO for a $15 fee. The funds help the high school and Laguna Middle School bands. For more information, visit slobandboosters.org or email slohstreesale@gmail.com. Δ
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 6, 2022.
