December 2008Bayview Hosts African MarketBy Herman WongOn a hot Saturday afternoon in October the Bayview Opera House was sizzling with activity. Buoyant children wandered among stroller pushers and denture wearers in the outside courtyard, drawn to the sound of drums or the sight of a gigantic inflatable tunnel shaped like a train, which could be seen from the platform of the T-line’s Oakdale/Palou station. In its third year, the International African Market in Bayview - a multi-cultural festival cum fair and bazaar – took place on October 25, competing with Coit Tower’s 75th anniversary and the dedication of the renovated Fillmore Center Plaza. The 2008 market was actually a scale-down version, a taste of the market, due to the shortage of time to organize, said Thor Kaslofsky, a project manager for the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, which had awarded organization of the market to the Bayview Merchants Association just a month earlier. The association’s bid beat out Flight Community Services and Clear Focus Marketing. The event was principally funded by a $140,000 contribution from Lennar/BVHP LLC, which is obligated to house an African marketplace as part of its Hunters Point development agreement with the City. Lennar had organized the two previous International African Markets. This year’s event was part festival, part market, with a few African flags thrown in. An older crowd toe-tapped to San Francisco blues musician Bobbie Webb and his band on the brick outdoor stage, with a Sudanese flag taped to the wall behind them. An inflated moon base housed a laser tag game that rumbled with playful kids, and families leaned on the railing around the Truckstop, a railroad-like ride with mini-diesel trucks. Young and old clamored close to hear the rules for the Tycoon Typhoon, a sealed vinyl box where contestants grabbed for one dollar bills whipped into a frenzy by an electric blower. Vendors, who in past years set up in the courtyard under canopies, were placed inside the Opera House’s auditorium. Eight tables were arranged in a square formation, selling items ranging from Christmas cards with black angels and other Christian characters to handmade plastic bead bracelets. Anita Franklin, a City of Richmond resident, sold four sterling silver rings and a cross by noon. “People are coming in and they are interested, have a taste to purchase,” she said. Valerie Davison, who hails from the Western Addition, sold men’s and women’s hosiery at an Opera House event earlier in the year, generating enough sales for a repeat visit. But by mid-afternoon she’d sold only one item, a pack of women’s pantyhose. “I made more sales by this time in the afternoon [at the earlier event],” Davison said, adding that there was more foot traffic when the sellers sat outside. The action was mostly outdoors. Bayview resident Linda Harper filmed her grandson Tommy stretch and pull his way up the towering climbing wall erected on the Newcomb Avenue side of the Opera House. “Try it again. Try it again honey,” she said, as the five year old grabbed at the wall’s gray holds. Harper, who’d heard about the event at Charles Drew Elementary School, hadn’t expected all the rides, which weren’t part of previous markets. “It’s really nice because it’s catering to kids and families,” she said. The event was organized by Jackie Norman, wife of Bayview Merchant Association president Al Norman. Al Norman declined to be interviewed, and Jackie Norman didn’t respond to interview requests. The Redevelopment Agency’s Kaslofsky praised the pair. “They really wowed us in the [request for proposal] interviews,” he said. “They have a lot of passion for revitalizing the Bayview community.” Kaslofsky, who attended the Saturday event and estimated upwards of 150 people attended, singled out Jackie Norman’s experience organizing events in the neighborhood, including the Juneteenth Festival. “She’s got event planning experience in Bayview; longer than any of the other applicants. They’ve done a lot of different events since the 49ers stadium was called Pac Bell.” |
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