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Fiesta proved a windfall for local non-profit groups
by Robb Fulcher
Merchants and craftspeople were not the only ones to profit from the Labor Day weekend's Fiesta Hermosa street fair. Local non-profit groups and causes fared significantly better than they did in most previous Fiestas, officials said.
"All told, they did about $7,000 better," said Carla Merriman, executive director of the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce, which receives almost all of its funding from the 27-year-old street fair held twice a year in downtown Hermosa.
The Hermosa Beach Historical Society, Boy Scouts of America Troop 860, Rotary Club, 1736 House for families in crisis, and the town's police and fire departments were given free booth space to sell wares. Each booth space is valued as high as $800 to commercial vendors, Merriman said.
Beer garden booths valued at $800 were donated to organizers of the town's St. Patrick's Day celebration, Kiwanis and the Hermosa Beach Community Foundation.
In addition, 80 percent of the beer and wine sales, totaling $11,850, were donated to those groups, Merriman said. The remaining 20 percent went to operate the beer garden, she said.
The rotary Club was charged only $100 for "overhead" for its perennially popular hotdog booth, Merriman said.
"We are proud to be a part of the fund-raising process for other nonprofit organizations," said Mike Ludwig, chairman of the chamber's board of directors.
The three-day Fiesta featured about 30 food booths and 290 craft booths, live bands, and children's entertainment, including pony rides, a petting zoo and face painters. ER