Garland Street Fair pays a visit to Oz

There may not be representatives of the Lollipop Guild, but the Garland Street Fair will welcome visitors on Saturday with plenty of fanfare and fun for you and your little dog, too.

The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Garland Avenue, which will be closed from Monroe to Howard streets. This year’s theme is “A Tribute to Judy Garland and ‘The Wizard of Oz.’

“Everyone has been really enamored of the ‘Wizard of Oz’ theme,” said Sue Bradley, of Tinman Art Works, who also owns the Ruby Slipper, a shoe store next door to the gallery.

The Garland Business District has taken that theme and run with it. A yellow brick road will run through the street; booths will be set up where fairgoers can make their own ruby slippers (bring your own shoes) or Glenda’s wand; the Garland Theater will screen “The Wizard of Oz” movie at 3 p.m. and midnight.

Bradley said the business organization decided to throw a street fair five years ago to boost sales during the otherwise slow summer.

That first year, only about 20 local merchants were involved; this year, 47 are participating, Bradley said.

The merchants on Garland will move their businesses out to the street so fairgoers can do their shopping while they are having a good time.

“It’s going to be the mother of all sidewalk sales,” Bradley said.

Fourteen bands are scheduled to play on stages at each end of the fair: one at Garland and Monroe, the other at Garland and Howard. The headlining band will be the Celtic Nots.

Fairgoers should bring their own chairs to relax and enjoy the shows.

Tickets for 30 cents each will be available to participate in games such as tossing coins and breaking plates with a softball.

For Judy Garland fans who know how to belt out “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a Judy Garland impersonation contest will be held at 5:30 p.m.

The winner’s troubles will melt like lemon drops when receiving a trophy, a stay at the Montvale Hotel in downtown Spokane – and, of course, bragging rights.

For four-legged creatures, a Toto look-alike contest will be held at noon. All contestants must be of the four-legged variety, but the contest is not limited to dogs.

“I’ll be really upset if no one brings an iguana,” Bradley said.

All contestants in the Toto contest will receive a trophy, and the winner will get a free dog-grooming session at Dee’s Dog Grooming.

An art tent for kids will feature face-painting and crafts. The proceeds from these activities will benefit the Spokane Guilds’ School, which also will have a booth at the fair.

Several food vendors will be on hand throughout the fair Saturday.

The Milk Bottle will operate an ice cream booth and a booth selling grilled food; the historic restaurant also will be open for business during the fair.

Sneaky Pete’s will have a beer garden, Pizza Rita will set up a booth and the Brown Bag Bistro will operate a stand near the theater.

“Fairgoers need to bring a big appetite,” Bradley said.

The street fair benefits the Garland Business District, which works to keep sidewalks clean, has its own business watch (somewhat like Block Watch) and keeps trees along the sidewalks pruned.

The business organization uses the event to showcase its businesses on a street that looks more like Main Street in a small town than a typical commercial street in Spokane.

“It reminds me of my neighborhood where I grew up in the Midwest,” Bradley said of her fondness for Garland Avenue. “There’s just a lot of character to it.”

She said Garland is a good place to have a business because there isn’t as much crime and graffiti as in many other places around town.

Bradley said Garland is the oldest business district outside downtown Spokane; many Garland businesses have been family-run for generations.

The Garland Street Fair is different from many other neighborhood festivals because it allows businesses to participate only if they operate in the Garland district or around it.

During last year’s fair, Bradley said, 8,000 to 10,000 people swooped into the neighborhood.