Festival relights Hillcrest sign

By Elena Buckley | Reportero SDUN

Underneath the historic Hillcrest sign stretched across University Avenue, the entire community will come together to celebrate the spirit of the neighborhood.

On Sun., Aug. 14, from noon to 9 p.m., CityFest will cover six blocks on Fifth Ave., from Brookes to University avenues, branching out on the side streets one block to either side. With more than 250 food and arts and crafts vendors, an expansive beer garden on University between Fifth and Fourth avenues, a large
main stage beneath the Hillcrest sign and a water slide on Pennsylvania Avenue, this enormous street party truly outdoes itself.

Since the first CityFest in 1984, which attracted only 3,000 attendees, the event has grown to 66,000 attendees in 1995 and a whopping 150,000 last year. The rise in attendance is due largely to the year-round
planning that the Hillcrest Business Improvement Association (HBIA) and sponsors—such as Three Olives, Coors and San Diego Pix invest in the affair. Volunteers, community partners and board members also help brainstorm for the event.

HBIA’s executive director Benjamin Nicholls said it costs $100,000 to host CityFest, but the festival also makes money, which is invested in the community.

“Last year we made [a profit of] about $45,000,” said Nicholls. “The money we raised last year is being used to renovate the Hillcrest sign, keep it looking good.” The money this year’s CityFest will raise isn’t yet allocated for any one specific project, but according to Lisa Weir, HBIA’s communications and marketing program manager, HBIA is considering numerous beautification projects.

Nicholls explained that about three years ago the HBIA changed the direction of the festival, taking it back to its roots and focusing on the Hillcrest sign.

“When CityFest first started, it was to memorialize the new Hillcrest sign and the lighting of [it],” said Nicholls. “So what they did was they closed University and had a big party right under the sign.”

This year is especially focused on the sign due to its having malfunctioned over the last few months, Weir added, noting that this year’s festival is, in a way, “marrying” historic Hillcrest with the present day, installing new LED lights and revamping the sign for its grand relighting at 8 p.m. the day of the festival.

“This CityFest, we’re really capitalizing on all the revitaliza-tion work that we’ve done with the functionality of the sign, really polishing it up and bringing it into 2011,” she said.

Along with being a street party, CityFest emphasizes the significance of the sign and how it brings the community together as a whole.

“It’s not enough to have a party in the neighborhood; you’ve got to have a party that involves everybody,” said Nicholls. “That’s why we have dozens of community groups from the Gay Rodeo to the Hillcrest Town Council to Mama’s Kitchen to UCSD, all participating in our festival and that really gives the festival a soul. I don’t think CityFest would have continued—even if it made money—without people who really like it.”

A couple of years ago, HBIA added the Spirit of Hillcrest—a live representation of the integrity of the neighborhood, walking around on stilts. This year another representative mascot will join the fun—an embodiment of the musical beat and rhythm of Hillcrest, dubbed the Tempo of Hillcrest.

In addition to the variety of vendors and the musical acts on the main stage, the festival will also offer a carnival area at Fifth and Brookes avenues, with rides, obstacle courses and a mechanical bull sponsored by the Gay Rodeo.

“Our grand stage is immediately below the Hillcrest sign, so the idea that you can stand on University and face the stage and watch live music all day long is something that’s pretty phenomenal,” said Weir.

A dunk tank in the beer garden will raise money for Mama’s Kitchen with “Dunk a Drag Queen,” and, according to Nicholls, a couple of local politicians will also be on hand for dunking. “If you’ve got an axe to grind, you can dunk your local politician too,” Nicholls said.

New this year is a 25-foot-tall blow-up waterslide at Fifth and Pennsylvania avenues, to take some of the heat out of what is traditionally the hottest day of the summer.

For more information, visit hillcrestcityfest.com.