Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who heads the Office of Neighborhood involvement, issued a statement today on the course of action the city plans to take with Last Thursday, a monthly free-form arts event on Alberta Street that has drawn the ire of neighbors.

The event, which has been occurring for roughly 13 years in the gentrifying part of town, has been loosely organized and spontaneous, with no one overseeing it.

One of the biggest issues surrounding the event is the $10,000 the city shells out to close the streets, and provide extra security and logistical support. There have been calls for stakeholders of the event to take on a greater responsibility and shoulder some of these costs.

In a statement released this afternoon, Fritz points out that there is going to $33 million in unmet needs in this year’s annual city budget.

She also announced the formation of “Friends of Last Thursday.” The new group will be composed of stakeholders along Alberta and will have a role in organizing it.

From the statement:

It is clear that an event attracting thousands of people each month needs a formal organizing committee with the capacity and structure for non-profit fundraising. Several speakers at the Town Hall mentioned Burning Man – that event is very carefully planned for months, for a once-a-year festival, and it’s held in the desert where the only people affected are those who choose to be there. On Alberta, residents and businesses are involved whether they want to be or not. Each constituency should have a voice in governing Last Thursday. Thanks to neighborhood, business, and regional support, it has become bigger than any one interest.
The Mayor and I plan to convene a meeting in early March to discuss establishing a “Friends of Last Thursday” organizing group, with delegates invited from the four Neighborhood Associations, the Business Association, and other stakeholders. Stephanie Reynolds will be working us to set the date, and will send out invitations soon. Please reply to Stephanie if you are interested in participating in this organizing meeting, stating which stakeholder group you are most closely affiliated with (artist, business owner, participant, neighbor who likes it, neighbor who doesn’t, etc).
The Mayor and I are working on funding options and other support to ensure the ongoing success of Last Thursday, with fewer unintended adverse side-effects, which we will discuss with the group. We greatly appreciate your input on Last Thursday, and I hope you will work with us to define how the community and the City can work together to minimize problems and make the events self-sustaining.

A local artist, shows off her wares during Last Thursday. Photo by Jake Thomas.

Rebekah Belle
503-288-0033

Over 300 people crowded into the Arcadian Ballroom on Alberta Street last night at a forum set up by Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Amanda Fritz to gather residents’ thoughts on Last Thursday- a free form alternative monthly arts event that has become increasingly controversial.

Many homeowners and businesses owners gave testimony about their feelings on how Alberta Street has changed over the years and that Last Thursday is one of the driving factors behind it, creating business opportunities and increasing the value of homes.

The majority of people who testified want Last Thursday to stay in the neighborhood with very few saying it should go. Everyone agreed there needs to be changes in how the event is organized and handled. Many of the business owners said they really didn’t make that much money during the event, but it gave them exposure and a feeling of belonging to a special community.

A few that said they depend on Last Thursday for staying in business.

“Eighty percent of our business comes on Last Thursday,” said Bill Rowlins, an art gallery owner.

A woman representing herself and her elderly neighbors who couldn’t make it, complained about the trash, public urination, and unruly behavior. Others described how their families were kept up by the noise from the event and how that might affect their jobs or attending school.

Almost everyone agreed that alcohol was a really big problem for the event. Not so much from the businesses located there, but from people bringing in their own.

Donna Guardino of Guardino Gallery who has a love-hate relationship with the event says “there needs to be a zero tolerance for alcohol and that people need to be ticketed for alcohol on the street.”

“Drunk people don’t buy art,” quipped one artist.

The city presented a list of monthly costs of Last Thursday. Controlling an estimated 10,000 people at this event is costing about $12,000.00 per month for the city. Amanda Fritz explained the city’s’ budget shortfall was a cause of concern saying, “for every $1,000 they can save, that’s another homeless family that can be put into a home.”

Last Thursday’s financial burden is clearly an issue. Some suggested that a dedicated group of volunteers could work to offset those costs. Over 70 people signed up to be volunteers with a grass roots organization called Team Last Thursday, which came up with a plan described in a flier that was handed out for the event. The plan addressed street closure, parking, music, fees, open containers and trash issues being handled by a volunteer staff.

Whether or not Last Thursday will exist is still undetermined and will take many more meetings to determine its fate. The large and rowdy crowds – plus the expense – have put the future of the festival in doubt. A big issue is how to preserve the organic nature of the event while keeping it under control. Other public forums will be scheduled to continue the discussion.

All the Apparatus, a band composed of recent transplants from Hawaii, plays to passersby on the sidewalk of Northeast Alberta Street during last week’s Last Thursday. Photo by Jake Thomas.

Jake Thomas
jthomas@portlandobserver.com

When the nights are warm and the sun lingers late into the evening the crowds come to the Alberta Arts District on the last Thursday of the month.

Artists lug wooden crates brimming with their work to sell. Musicians set up on street corners, as the streetscape as happy crowds converge on Alberta.

Last Thursday, an arts celebration that has been occurring in a gentrifying part of town for roughly 13 years, has embodied the spontaneity and innovation of a city that sees hordes of young creative types flock to it every year.

But City Hall seems poised to impose more structure on the freeform event that has drawn the ire of residents who’ve had to endure the noise and congestion from the crowds, as well as the remnants of the night’s revelry in their yards.

The monthly event, as its name implies, has been the polar opposite, in substance and style, of First Thursday, a night when the upscale galleries downtown and in the Pearl District open up their doors.

Last Thursday- which is part street fair, part carnival, and part art walk- has uncertain origins in a part of town that was once a hub of gang violence, but also an incubator for a robust art scene provided by the area’s cheap rents.

Donna Gaurdino, the owner of Gaurdino Gallery on Alberta, said that the event began as an attempt to get Portlanders to take a second glance at the area.

“There never really was an infrastructure,” said Magnus Johannesson, the owner of the real estate company Urban Focus, who was involved with the event early on.

Johannesson, whose office on Alberta and 24th Avenue was had bullet holes from gang battles, explained that because the event lacked and top-down structure it was seen as “authentic” gathering where people could showcase their art.

“It wasn’t at all hard to find artists,” said Johannesson.

But as the event grew, it’s become increasingly unpredictable and rowdy. Some are worried that the celebratory nature of the event has eclipsed its original goal.

Neighbors began complaining about the noise from amplified instruments on Alberta, the lack of parking, loud partiers making their way home, and deposits of vomit, garbage, and feces on their lawn. Others, like Johannesson, felt Last Thursday had become more of a” frat party.”

“I do feel Last Thursday has developed into something different,” said Gaurdino. “When people show up at the door to my gallery, they’re already drunk.”

Allan Oliver, the manager of Onda Gallery on Northeast Alberta Street, chats with customers who wandered in during Last Thursday. Photo by Jake Thomas.

Allan Oliver, the manager of Onda Gallery on Alberta, isn’t sure the event even helps his business since people are so overwhelmed by the event before they even walk in his door.

“I sort of have a love-hate thing with this,” said Oliver. “Spontaneity is very overrated.”

Larry Holmes, the chair of the nearby Vernon Neighborhood Association, said that resident’s feelings on the event are a “mixed bag.” Some despise it. Others think it’s cool, he said.

Things reached a fever pitch in April 2007, when a riot nearly erupted outside The Nest, a bar on Alberta.

According to Oregon Liquor Control Commission records, police officers were trying to clear the street that was filled with people dancing and reveling when they encountered a group who resisted. One of them grabbed an officer’s Taser.

The incident quickly escalated with patrons at The Nest making lewd hand gestures and hurling beer bottles at the officers.

Since then, the street has been closed off during the festival. Last year, the city also stepped up its involvement, adding a greater police presence, garbage cans, and port-a-potties.

But it costs the city $10,000 a month to offer these services from May through October, which is prompting city officials to look into imposing some sort of formal structure on the event to recoup costs.

Both First Thursday and Saturday Market have point persons that the city can contact to resolve issues- something Last Thursday lacks.

Next week Mayor Sam Adams and Amanda Fritz will be holding an open meeting to get feedback on what should change. The session will take place on Monday, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Acadian Ballroom, 1829 Northeast Alberta Street.

Roy Kaufman, spokesperson for Adams, said that the City Hall doesn’t want to use a heavy hand to shut down Last Thursday.

“That’s not at all the goal,” he said, pointing out that events like Last Thursday keep Portland unique.

But he did note that there needs to be some sort of shared responsibility, maybe with Alberta Street Business Association or Art on Alberta.

Fritz, a former neighborhood activist, said that the meeting is being held so that she and Adams can get a sense of peoples’ thoughts on the event. She said that it’s a “huge problem” that there is no person or group in charge of the event to take responsibility. All options are on the table, including shutting it down, said Fritz, which she isn’t sure how that would happen.

Becky Guest, a local artist, shows off her wares during Last Thursday. Photo by Jake Thomas.

But Becky Guest, an artist who braved the cold last month to showcase her handmade copper bracelets, said she loves how the event brings people together, and hopes the city will think twice before it imposes any sort of structure that stifles the event.

“Why would they do that?” she said. “What’s the problem?”