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$16,500 for beer bracelets at the Orange Street Fair
August 28th, 2008, 7:00 am · 14 Comments · posted by Teri Sforza, Register staff writer
It’s nearly time to do the chicken dance again.
The Orange International Street Fair has been a Labor Day Weekend extravaganza since 1973, when the city celebrated its centennial. Lasting memories for The Watchdog include the chicken dance and the beer bracelet, though not necessarily in that order.
The street fair’s official raison d’etre is to give nonprofit organizations a place to raise money (by hawking all sorts of food and beverages from those little booths; see my colleague Nancy Luna’s take on the yummiest stuff here). So how much money does the Street Fair itself raise?
GOOD MONEY!
This chart shows the Fair’s revenue and expenses for the past three years, as filed with the IRS.
You see a steady growth in revenue over three years (in blue - up a comfy 17 percent, to $395,962).
But you also see erratic expenses (purple), starting at $219,134, more than doubling to $475,355, then plummeting to $260,219.
Why? A one-time payment of $231,536 to the city of Orange in 2005. Remember that elderly gent who steered his car into the street market in Santa Monica, mowing down unsuspecting pedestrians? Well, the city of Orange decided it might be best to invest in concrete barricades to ensure that nothing like that happened here. So the city and the Street Fair split the cost of the barricades, says the city’s Irma Hernandez.
The Street Fair took in a lot more than it spent in the most recent year reported (an extra $135,743); but that expensive payment to the city made it overspend by $84,083 the year before. Luckily, it had a nice little nest egg to dip into.
THE NEST EGG
The Street Fair’s net assets - the cash it has in the bank for a rainy day - were a healthy $158,895 in 2004. It plummeted to $74,812 after those concrete barricades, then recovered to $210,555.
That money, however, was not in an interest-bearing account. Seems like that might be a good idea; if the money was earning just 3.8 percent, that would be an extra $11,000 or so in its coffers.
We’re waiting to hear what the fair plans to do with this nice cozy nest egg. It would cover nearly a year’s worth of expenses.
FUN FAIR FACTS
The Watchdog’s favorite tidbits are the beer cup surcharge (which brings in $84,459) and the beer bracelets, which are affixed to the wrist if you’re old enough to drink (and which cost $16,500). Some 300,000 people are expected at the Street Fair, and that adds up to a lot of beer bracelets! These are all from the Fair’s latest tax return (2006):
- Money in:
- Booth fees: $210,617
- Beer cup surcharge: $84,459
- Sponsorships: $56,000
- Snack plaza: $43,058
- Money out:
- Liability insurance: $56,042
- Equipment rental: $53,982
- Snack bar pavilion: $37,719
- Sanitation and cleanup: $25,576
- Electrical equipment: $22,000
- Beer bracelets: $16,500
- Other: $9,901
- Professional fees: $8,005
- Pins and T-shirts: $7,645
- Telephone: $4,155
- Outside services: $3,054
- Businsess meetings and banquets: $3,016
- Gifts: $2,000
- Legal fees: $1,641
- Advertising and PR: $1,396
- Meals: $1,127
More Watchdog:
- Records show Carona’s PSRs mostly did nothing
- OC Scouts leader’s pay rose while revenue fell
- OC Boy Scouts wrestle the economic downturn
- OC Boy Scouts, by the numbers
- The half-billion-dollar Boy Scout stash
- The million-dollar Boy Scout. Thrifty, indeed!
- God’s quid pro quo?
- Earthly kingdom: Trinity’s $167 million in real estate
- OC charity for burn victims burns donors
- Irvine house raffle: All in the family
- What’s next? Raffles to pay for trash pickup?! (IPSF)
- House raffle turns Ocean Institute’s red ink to black
- Tickets to Obama/McCain at Saddleback Church: ‘The Untold Story’
- OC Fair rolling in green stuff, but raising prices
- OC Fair workers rack up hundreds of hours of leave
- OC’s dead pets enter the food chain. Mmmm.
- Stop the killing! A no-nanny approach OC can emulate
- One million dollars paid to convicted felon…
- Why work? Carona hits pay dirt in retirement
- Lie a little on a resume? It’s OK in OC.
- The billionaire felon’s foundation: Where’s the bad guy?
- Who’s who in the badge fracas
- Badge? What badge?
- Want county cash? Better not request public records.
- Recycling dead animals 1: Waste not, want not?
- Jet Set Club: Your Congressmembers hit the road
- Nuclear plant inspectors earn less than some OC jail guards
- Human error at San Onofre nuclear plant
- On watch at the nuclear plant: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
- Shhhhh. Nuclear plant security issues are secret
- Better than prison! San O’s security, behind-the-scenes
- The seniors are rioting! Call the police!
- It’s your building, but KEEP OUT!
- Fee hike on seniors pays for employee morale
- Drink the water. Really. It’s OK. Go ahead.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Some good information but terribly written.
August 28th, 2008 at 8:35 am
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August 28th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Good to see the City of Orange is leading the charge to “Go Green”. Obviously the city wants to be known as “The City Fueled by BEER”! Go Orange, Go Green!
August 28th, 2008 at 9:26 am
The Orange International Street Fair is a non profit organization that’s planned and run by volunteers. No one gets paid to plan the Fair and they are certainly not making a profit. It’s amazing that that OC Register allowed this article to be published without any input from the Street Fair. I noticed no quotes or comments from the Street Fair at all.
As far as the “cozy nest egg” it’s ridiculous to assume that the Street Fair will have their savings account completely drained at the end of each Fair when they have to pay for services/expenses after the Fair AND still have enough start up money for the next Fair.
In the future, more time should be alloted to research the whole story to ensure that the reporting is accurate instead of throwing something together to meet a deadline per se.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Ugggh, I hate the street fair. Lived for two years on Orange Street right in the thick of things and haven’t been back to the pointless street fair since. Crappy, greasy food and the dregs of humanity combined w/ loads of beer = YUCK.
August 28th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Jay - no one is assuming the Fair will have its savings account “completely drained.”
It *is* a practice, though, of many organizations to have a plan or policy in place for managing net assets.
The Street Fair may have such a policy - it’s just that the fair folks are apparently quite busy setting up things for this weekend, so no one would speak to specifics on the record.
There were numerous phone calls and emails; and the Fair’s accountant is quite helpful, but hadn’t been cleared to address specific questions. So if you’d like the Fair to do so, you could ask someone to get back to me. I’ll post as soon as I hear from them.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
i havent heard as much hoopla as years before. i think it is a disgusting place with all the strollers and drunk sweaty stinky people. no thanks.
August 28th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Same ol venders, same ol food, same ol beer.
I don’t see why people go year after year.
A few changes once in a while would be very welcome.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
The one weekend where a nice quiant community becomes a drunk swirling mass of LA-ites wanting to become part of the “OC.” I’m going where it’s nice and quiet for the weekend. Tell me what local would be insane to even think of downtown on the Plaza this weekend?
August 29th, 2008 at 8:14 am
audiogirl, you have your own answer: same ol venders, same ol food, same ol BEER, same people drinking. GT, I don’t care what native Orangites call it, the rest of us can recognize a Circle when we see one.
August 29th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
As the old saying goes if you dont like what you are watching change the channel. If you are not in to the street fair dont go.Stop sniveling
August 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
The register and especially this reporter hate any non profit organization.
August 30th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
ocoldude Says:
August 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
The register and especially this reporter hate any non profit organization.
Beer cup surcharge: $84,459
Beer bracelets: $16,500
Beer Bracelets create 400% Return on Investment for Local Charity
I learned that myself after it took her 10 articles in an attempt attack the Boy Scouts for having $12M in holdings here in Orange County to help fund them for more then one year. What is next?