“Street Fair kids: having fun making money - msnbc.com” plus 1 more

Street Fair kids: having fun making money - msnbc.com

Posted: 05 Sep 2010 10:15 AM PDT

It's just so hot, Velasco said. I'm all about the customer service. I believe if you give something, you get something. I just know, you get by giving.

-- Taylor Johnson

HOMETOWN REGGAE GROUP ENTERTAINS

Adorned with pineapples and palm trees, Polynesian street is known for Hawaiian delicacies and tropical refreshments. Saturday night, the street vibe was reggae music by homegrown band Seedless.

Consisting of six Orange natives who've been together since 2006, Seedless had a crowd of young and the young at heart rocking to the music as they surrounded the stage.

I would pay money to see them, they were really good and brought more people in. I even called up friends to come watch, said Vanessa Ruiz, 20, of Garden Grove.

The band's members said that they have been coming to Street Fair since they were kids, but little did they know that they would one day attract several hundred fair-goers for their first performance in the plaza.

We just showed up last year to ask if there were any cancellations. This year we pounded the booking agents, and finally got to play, said lead vocalist and guitarist Casey Sullivan, 24.

Seedless performed for three hours Saturday.

It gave them a sense of hometown pride to give back to the city they reside in," said Sam Sarce, 25, the band's manager.

We've always wanted to play here in Orange and it definitely won't be the last time, Sullivan said. Although Seedless is not playing for the remainder of the Street Fair, they will be performing Sunday at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa.

-- Ella Sogomonian

ORANGE HAUNTED? ASK THE PARANORMAL EXPERTS

Amid the happy, squealing children and the main stage blaring songs from the Grease soundtrack, Orange's International Street Fair has a darker corner. Even early in the morning, the booth of Haunted Orange, run by Ernie Alonzo and the Orange County Paranormal Society, is surrounded by curious onlookers. Alonzo, 40, a native of Orange, started Haunted Orange (and its website hauntedorange.com ) a year ago with the intention of investigating and reporting the paranormal history of the city. He says he has received a spooky amount of interest, and the group maintains that Orange has its fair share of ghost stories. "Antique Depot, in the circle has had strange things happen," said Chris Shimaoka, 40 of Westminster, and a member of the Paranormal Society. "You can hear footsteps, whispers on recordings, nothing conclusive. We'll keep going on follow-ups to try and get something on video." Video is something the group prides itself on, and the booth is lined line with some of the cameras they use, including thermal, full spectrum, and infrared. Orange shopkeepers invite the group to see if they can verify claims made by some of the owners, Shimaoka said. Also, the society doesn't charge for its visits, an added bonus for Old Towne owners looking to add novelty to their shop. The nonprofit society receives money from donations, Alonzo said. And Haunted Orange plans to begin paranormal tours in Old Towne -- 90 minutes for $12.

"Historian Charles Spratley, who used to work for the San Diego Historical Society, will lead the tours," Alonzo said. "He'll be wearing Victorian clothing and will lead the tour several times a week."

Not surprisingly, Alonzo predicts that Halloween will be when business picks up, and he will increase the tour frequency to eight times a week.

"We've only been through about 20 percent of what we want to see," Alonzo said. "A lot of locations have paranormal activity."

-- Ryan Murray

NOT EVERYONE LOVES THE STREET FAIR

The sweet smell of funnel cake, taste of cold beer, sound of rock and ball music blaring through the streets all keep Chapman students counting down each year until the start of the Orange International Street Fair. Most never miss the event. But that's not the case for all.

Downtrodden and tired, seniors Jenna Brown, 21, and Max McCullen, 21, left the Street Fair more quickly than they arrived.

I, honestly, don't even know why we bothered coming, Brown said. It's so hot, so crowded and everyone is either drunk or acting like they are. It's just not that fun.

Brown was introduced to the Street Fair three years ago as a freshman and was told Street Fair weekend was the best of the year. But her expectations were far from met.

I guess it's all right when you're a freshman and totally new to Chapman and Orange, she said. But, for me, it's just too crowded. It's hard for me to even find my friends through the entire crowd. It's more trouble than it's worth.

While the Street Fair does offer a wide variety of food and entertainment, it's not much different than most fairs of its kind, McCullen said.

I came to get some corn, he said, as he finished a piece of corn-on-the-cob. But only because it was convenient, and we were in the area.

And the two weren't alone. Sam Alexander, 20, walked passed by holding the same brand of corn McCullen was just finishing and possessing the same attitude.

Good corn, Alexander said. Just too many people acting a little too stupid for my taste.

Though some Chapman students call the event one of the highlights of the school year, it is clearly not everyone's favorite weekend.

Yes, it is sort of a staple of Orange and Labor Day, but for me it's just not that big of a deal, Brown said. Some people may think I'm out of my mind for thinking that, but I'd much rather spend this weekend staying cool and relaxing than trying to sift through a crowd in the heat.

-- Casey Hull

BEER FOR BASKETBALLS

It's hard to find many times when a high school women's basketball coach shamelessly promotes the consumption of alcoholic beverages. The Orange International Street Fair is one of those times.

Though the women's basketball team at Villa Park High School has been working vendor booths at the fair for years, head coach Kim Cram says that this year she's especially thankful for the chance to provide beer to the thirsty crowd.

You can only get a beer booth every four years here at the Street Fair, Cram said. We had one four years ago, and we were lucky enough to get our name picked again this year.

While alcohol is prevalent at the fair, it appears that vying for the opportunity to sell it is both competitive and very strict.

There's a whole process to go through if you want a beer booth, Cram said. I'm talking like certification and finger-printing.

On the years the team does not have a beer booth, it still sets up at the fair, selling everything from crispy bread to pizza. Still, Cram says alcohol is clearly where the money is.

We're doing really well this year so far. On a good year selling beer, you can make anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000, she said.

Her team needs as much money as it can raise because budget cuts that have rendered the team virtually self-sufficient, she said.

The money we raise will go towards basketballs, tournament fees, uniforms, and most of all transportation, which we now have to help pay for, thanks to budget cuts, Cram said.

And though the coaches might be glad to have scored a beer booth this year for financial reasons, the players are probably grateful for a different reason in light of this weekend's 90-degree weather.

Only adults can work a beer booth.

Let's just say we're really thankful to have such great parents, Cram said. The girls lucked out this year.

-- Casey Gomez

PARENTS DISPLAY BABY-INSPIRED SKATER FASHION

Amid the food and trinket booths lined around the Orange Plaza stands an eye-catching booth adorned with dozens of shirts, black with bright energetic undertones,.

So Cal Baby clothing brings the Socal skater style popularized by the young adult generation to baby and toddler clothes, say its founder, Tommy and Amber Barton..

The Bartons are working the baby booth during the street fair, promoting their original designs.

We come up with our ideas, print and market ourselves, Tommy Barton said.

So Cal Baby products range from T-shirts and infant's bodysuits to hats and decals.

We're all completely original, Amber Barton said. We try to separate ourselves. Some people might try to do things similar, but we out-design them every time.

The couple came up with the idea for So Cal Baby two years ago, when their son, Jacob, was born.

We wanted to create something fresh that we could enjoy with Jacob and others could share with their kids, Tommy Barton said.

So after creating a few designs, the couple got started. By attending events such as the Orange street fair and the Los Angeles County Fair, the couple meets people and spreads the brand.

The Orange street fair is one of So Cal Baby's most successful events and the company has attended it the past two years.

While the company's most popular design is a T-shirt that reads, I Love My Daddy's Tattoos, the So Cal Baby booth was lined with designs, ranging from Lil' Bro to California Love.

The company also markets on its website, www.socalbabyclothing.com.

We always have new ideas and change all the time, Tommy Barton said. That's our thing: originality.

-- Casey Hull

O.C. ALT-ROCK BAND GETS MAIN STAGE AT STREET FAIR

Out of 45 bands performing at the Orange street fair only 13 get to perform on the main stage in the plaza, and Blue Lion Project was one of them.

Hailing from Orange County, the band played its alternative rock set on Saturday from noon-1 p.m..

It gives us a lot of visibility. It's a great stage and we always love to play, bassist Paul Vandervalk said, 42.

The band was originally formed in 2003 by drummer Art Partida, 37, and vocalist Rebecca Vertson, 33. This was the band's first time performing at the street fair though they have been pursuing the venue for the past three years, Vertson said.

It's been awesome, Vertson said. Getting in was the hard part, just getting a foot in the door.

Vertson and Partida agreed that the highlight of the fair was playing the main stage, but that they enjoyed being visitors as well.

My favorite is playing, and all the music. I love music. I can sit with the Greek music and be happy or sit with the Germa. All of it, live music is great, Partida said.

DeAnne Frink, Blue Lion Project's booking manager, said that coming to the fair has been a great.

We got a lot of great response today, about 50 e-mails for our list, and gave away 100 CDs, Frink said.

Blue Lion Project next performs at The Doll Hut in Anaheim on Sept. 10. For more information visit the bands website at www.myspace.com/BlueLionProject.

-- Elizabeth Nihill

'DRIZZLE ART' A HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

Dressed in a white jumpsuit splattered with paint, Robert Holton is hunched over a half-finished painting of a green canine -- a custom pet portrait for a client.

For the past three years Holton has set up shop at the street fair, showcasing his colorful paintings of recognizable pop culture icons. Browsing children and adults alike can't help but affectionately squeal at the images of everyone from Kobe Bryant to Count Chocula.

I call it drizzle art.' It's pop art, a kind of fusion between Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock, Holton said.

And while most artists would cringe at the sight of a screaming toddler running his sticky little hands across their paintings, Holton encourages it.

My work is very tactile, very three-dimensional, he said. I want people to come up and touch and feel them.

Based in Anaheim, Holton, 52, works out of the family's sign shop, previously owned by his father. Six years ago he transitioned into producing drizzle art and now participates in several traveling art shows throughout the year. He claims the Orange Street Fair is like a homecoming for him.

It's like a high school reunion, Holton said, You run into friends and neighbors that you haven't seen in forever. The fair has a real hometown feeling. You don't get that much in Southern California.

Holton says he mostly designs logos for companies and for restaurants. His biggest client --Heineken --has several of his paintings hanging up at both its U.S. and international headquarters. With an average cost of $800, Holton sells to everyone from Ellen Degeneres, who picked up a portrait of Mr. Bubble, to Tommy Lasorda, who recently bought one of Holton's Dodger Dog paintings.

Being (at the Street Fair) is great marketing, you'll never know who'll come by, he said. Just yesterday the president of Quicksilver stopped at my booth and was interested in my work.

Holton's unique paintings aren't just for big companies and celebrities. Rather, fair-goers are walking away with prints. He'd sold two by Saturday afternoon.

The paintings have a real connection to our past. They take you back to happier, friendlier times, he said. Everyone's looking for that connection.

-- Casey Gomez

FIRE EXPLORERS READY FOR RESCUE AID

Regardless of the injury, the volunteers of the Fire Explorers are ready to tend to street fair-goers' first-aid needs.

Between Italian Street and All-American Street, four men sit behind the booth with a sign reading First Aid, medical kits and walkie-talkies at hand.

If someone needs medical attention to aid them, we feel it's important that we're here, said Luis Lopez, 19.

Most calls received are alcohol-related.

I just got a call about one woman who fainted, Lopez said. She hadn't eaten all day and said she was hung over.

On Friday, the volunteers got about 15 calls, mostly after dark.

It's kind of slow during the day because people aren't drinking as much, said Steven Elizarraras, 19. But were expecting our numbers to be much higher today because the fair starts a lot earlier.

-- Ariela Kozin

MUSICAL PAIR ENTERTAIN FAIR WITH FLAIR

For an hour on Saturday, visitors to the England stage at the Orange International Street Fair were treated to typical British tunes performed by some not-so-typical musicians. Rick Kaupp and Tom Brown, of Ladera Ranch, don't have a lot in common on the surface. Kaupp is 56 and white, and Brown is 36 and black. Kaupp is considerably shorter than Brown, and where Brown has been playing guitar continuously since he was 16, Kaupp put his six-string down in high school for more than 20 years before picking it up again in his early 40s. "Every time I'd go by a guitar store, it was like a candy store to me," Kaupp said. "And I figured, 'Hey, I'm almost dead, I should play now.'" To keep his interest from waning, Kaupp went to open mic nights and started booking gigs. This was his first time at the street fair, and he enjoyed performing with Brown, also new to the fair. But however Brown and Kaupp differ, they share a trait that bonds them beyond their musicianship. Both men have speech impediments, which they take in good humor. "We thought about calling ourselves the Stutter Brothers," Kaupp said. "What is the likelihood of that?" Brown was more reserved about the issue. "Sometimes it gets in the way of interviews and networking," Brown said. "But vocally, no. No problems on stage." Brown, a member of three bands, is working on a record deal right now. Kaupp expresses his love for British musicians on his MySpace Music page and on his chest as he dons a The Who shirt as he performs. "Oasis, Morrissey, The Smiths, The Beatles," said Kaupp, listing his favorite music. "I've played a lot of coffeehouses and some pubs and gotten a good response."

Saturday morning's set in rising heat ended with a smallish audience bobbing heads in time with the music. Both men expressed interest in returning to the fair next year.

-- Ryan Murray

SOME BUSINESSES EMBRACE FAIR CROWDS

Orange Plaza-area businesses can either close their doors during the International Street Fair or embrace the crowds.

Zalfa and Adel Mahshi, the married owners of Byblos Caf, a Mediterranean restaurant, choose to adapt to the masses by converting the front area of their restaurant into a booth to serve a converted menu.

It's a big job but if we don't open we lose the whole weekend, said Zalfa Mahshi, 52.

Conveniently, the couple's caf is located on Greek Street, so when fair-goers want to branch out from the fair's Greek food to choices including spinach pies, baba ganoush and baklava, they can do so at Byblos. The caf originated as a Lebanese market 35 years ago, but 21 years ago was bought by the Mahshis. Byblos has remained open for every street fair since, Zalfa Mahshi said.

We like it because it opens us up for year-round people, like (those who say) Oh, we didn't know you were here!' Zalfa Mahshi said. It brings them back,

Another restaurant to adapt to the fair is Caf Lucca, which sports banners touting a Street Fair Menu that includes 14 Imported and Craft Beers.

A few stores down, Bagel Me!capitalizes on the hot weather and makes the bulk of its sales from smoothies, said cashier and Orange resident Elise Munson, 20.

My favorite part is I guess seeing everyone come in from high school and definitely the food, said Munson, an El Modena High School graduate.

The Bagel Me! staff also has the unpleasant task of steering away drunk non-customers from the shop's bathroom, Munson said.

The Hope Chest, a maternity and children's store, takes a different approach by closing its doors early.

During the day, a lot of people come through but we close during the evening because the evening crowd isn't here to shop, said cashier and Orange resident Christina Kendler, 32.

The bands on German Street and the Polynesian pork sandwiches are her fair favorites, Kendler said.

It gets really crowded in the evening, she said. So once people get rowdy we close our doors and join the party.

-- Elizabeth Nihill

VOCAL MUSIC STUDENT PITCH PARKING

Among questions of what to eat and what to browse at the Orange International Street Fair, another question often comes first: where to park?

Vocal music students from Orange High School are offering one solution: Hand over $10 to park in a prime location lot at North Lemon Street off West Chapman Avenue.

School district cuts slashed nearly $12,000 of the vocal music program's budget, causing the students to pay out of their pockets for traveling expenses, music and more.

For a vocal program of 300 students that performs at prestigious venues ranging from Carnegie Hall in New York City to St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, expenses can add up.

Everything has been cut, said Mike Short, Orange High School's choral director. We are now forced to pay everything ourselves.

Short is hoping to raise around $3,000 during the street fair.

The money will pay expenses for an upcoming performance at the 9/11 Remembrance Program at the Nixon Presidential Library This will lift a burden off of them, Short said. We'll have to sell candy bars if we can't raise the money here.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, the lot was full.

Vocal program volunteers also are running a booth on All-American Street, where they are the only place at the fair serving chili cheese fries.

Orange is such a unique community that once you live here, it's a place you never want to leave, Short said.

-- Kellie Henika

Contact the writer: Chapman University journalism students are providing ongoing coverage of the street fair.

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Kids Face Temptation When Buying Online - Wall Street Journal

Posted: 04 Sep 2010 08:18 PM PDT

By JEFF D. OPDYKE

Going through my credit-card statement online earlier this month, I noticed an item that seemed odd. It was a small expense, just $4.95, but it meant big trouble for someone in my family.

I walked into the family room where my 13-year-old son was watching TV.

"Buddy, I've got a problem," I told him. "Come here."

I always pull my son into my office when I'm having technology problems, so he jumped up, probably figuring that I needed help reprogramming my frustratingly dumb smartphone.

"What is this?" I asked, pointing at my computer screen. As we both looked at the statement, I noticed another small expense...and another...and another.

He looked at me sheepishly. The jig, he knew, was up.

* * *

Many times in the past several years, either I or my wife, Amy, has allowed our son to buy something online. We typically complete the transaction for him, inserting the required credit-card details and then deleting the data. If, that is, we remember.

I'm sure most parents these days get requests from their kids for online purchases. They buy songs online, or join online communities. They buy monthly game subscriptions or pay for tech support.

Even our 7-year-old daughter is now in on it. Thanks to her friends at school, she has found Club Penguin, the online hangout where kids her age congregate and play games. Just recently she got a Build-A-Bear teddy bear for her birthday and immediately wanted to join the online Build-A-Bear community.

Amy and I don't mind paying to give our kids access to these websites, within limits. The costs are typically low (as long as you remember to cancel when your kids stop using the site). And our kids get to hang out in safe places online with their friends.

But when I start seeing expenses I didn't authorize on my credit card, then it becomes a problem.

A friend in New Jersey has dealt with the same issue with his daughter, and he made a good point when I told him about my son.

"When you separate the payment from the purchase, it's what gets adults into trouble," he says. "Think of 'buy now, pay later.' People too often don't think of the financial consequences when they can have something immediately and pay for it weeks or months or even years later. Now, offer that same deal to kids, who have even less control of their impulses, who want what they want and they want it now and never have to pay for it themselves, and it's especially difficult. To them they're not really spending any money. They're just pointing and clicking."

He knows this all too well. A couple of years ago, he set up an iTunes account for his then 12-year-old daughter. He had set the preferences so that the emails confirming purchases went to a secondary account he rarely looks at.

Big mistake.

"She spent nearly $300 on songs one month," he says. "I never knew it until the bill came. And while I understood the temptation, I also knew that she understood at some point -- perhaps when she was buying song number 200 -- that she shouldn't be doing this. She got in big trouble, and I hope it was a good lesson for her. It was for me."

His daughter hasn't bought a song from iTunes in the past two years, unless she has received a gift card from a friend or relative. No exceptions.

* * *

Clearly, part of the problem with my son's unauthorized expenses was my fault.

After all, I gave him my credit-card data to make a purchase we agreed on and for which he repaid me, but I was too busy and too lazy to go back and make sure he had erased the data.

To put the most benign face on it, I chalk it up to my son's one-track mind. (He gets that trait from me.) He wanted to immediately play with what he had just bought, and figured he'd go back and erase the data after he was done with the game.

He never did. And I never thought to check on it, just as my friend never thought to check his secondary email address. At some point, you have to trust your kids to do what you ask. Until they don't.

The thing is, he could have easily afforded to pay me. He has the money in his wallet. But as many kids do in a culture of instant gratification, he didn't want to take the time to go through the effort of seeking my permission, and then tracking down his wallet and returning with the necessary funds. (Again, the most benign interpretation.)

He says he knew my credit-card data was still stored in his in-game profile. He rationalized his actions, as he told me, by telling himself, "I'll pay Dad later." I suspect, though, that as my friend says, he didn't think all that much about it. All he had to do was click. No money involved.

Either way, he never remembered to mention it to me, or to repay me.

The lesson in all of this: vigilance.

There are just too many ways nowadays for kids to spend without actually touching a unit of currency. I know many parents hand over their credit card to their kids this time of year, so their kids can buy school supplies or clothes at the mall with friends.

I know many parents don't think twice about letting their kid buy something small online, and never follow up to make sure their credit-card data isn't still sitting there, tempting them into future purchases.

You want to trust your kids. I understand that.

But as the axiom holds: It's OK to trust...

Just verify, too.

Write to Jeff D. Opdyke at jeff.opdyke@wsj.com

Kids Clothing

Sunday, September 5, 2010