About San Luis Obispo's Downtown Slo

When we first moved to San Luis Obispo County in 1978, downtown SLO businesses would stay open late on Thursday nights to give people a chance to shop later than 5:00 p.m. "Cruise Night" for teenagers was also Thursday, and the kids packed Marsh and Higuera Street, the "main drags," clogging traffic and blocking parking and pedestrian walkways. This, in turn, deterred people from coming to shop on Thursday nights. The Downtown Association decided to barricade six blocks of Higuera on those evenings so people could still shop late. Now the trick was to get people to come back to town!

In early 1983, the Downtown Association began arranging for special activities and entertainment on Higuera Street. Downtown restaurants came out to offer food and to barbecue ribs.

That summer, local farmers were invited to sell their produce; hence, the beginning of Farmers' Market. Because the event is sponsored by the Downtown Association, only Downtown Association members and nonprofit organizations were eligible to participate. In July 2006, the Market opened up to nonmembers, allowing them to participate at a cost of $80 per night.

Photo courtesy of Jim Zimmerlin, http://www.zimfamilycockers.com/DigitalRebel.html

Booths are also set up by local BBQ'ers, businesses, and organizations. Free street musicians (tips appreciated, plus many sell CDs) add to the fun - they even have to audition in order to appear! A giant cuddly "Downtown Brown" bear is there to offer free hugs to kids.

Thousands of people come to taste the free samples, buy fresh food at great prices, and enjoy the family fun atmosphere. Unlike many so-called "Farmers' Markets," only the actual producers may sell their produce and flowers - not people who buy wholesale and then sell them on.

Interestingly enough, the enormous draw of the delicious barbequed food vendors has created a mini-crisis of its own. Many of the downtown shops that stay open for Farmers' Market complain about the smoke, odors, and food mess that invade their shops. A few have even stopped staying open on these nights. But it's very unlikely that Farmers' Market will ever stop including the best food in SLO as part of its draw. Too many people love the variety of offerings!

For more information, here's a link to the Farmers' Market Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Luis-Obispo-CA/SLO-Farmers-Market/44091802612?ref=ts

On October 25, 2009, some friends and I attended the U2 Concert at the Rose Bowl. It was fabulous! There were over 90,000 fan and the group energy was so incredible. It had been a few years since I had attended an event like this and I had forgotten what it was like.

I've been a big U2 fan since the 80's. They played solid for almost three hours and put on quite a show. The set was designed like a space ship completely "in the round", so every seat was a good one. During the show, Bono actually spoke to an astronaut on the International Space Shuttle. They played most of their old hits and everyone danced and screamed and just had a wonderful time.

It was hot in Pasadena, there was lots of standing, waiting and climbing steps. But this old boomer still has it goin on and I am so glad that I went. What a blast!

If we don't take time out to have fun once in awhile, what is the point. Real estate can be so time consuming, it was great to take a break.

It WAS a beautiful day!