People flock to downtown street fair in Fargo

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – It’s the first day of the Downtown Fargo Street Fair, and it’s a great chance to pick up some food and try some offerings from some local vendors.

“There’s no better way than to get out here and interact with my customers, and find out what they’re looking for.”

Dana Steenberg runs the award-winning Angry Tomato Salsa out of St. Cloud, Minnesota.

He goes to fairs and events every weekend throughout the summer, but he says the Fargo Street Fair is special.

“The Fargo Street Fair, I do an event every single weekend of the year, this is hands down one of the best in the country.” 

This year the street fair runs all the way up Broadway from Main Ave. to 7th Ave. N.

They have about 200 vendors, and about 100 more who are already on the waitlist for next year.

“We still get calls daily “Hey do you have more spots? Do you have more spots? I wish we had more spots. It’d be fun. But we really curate our booths down here, and there’s a lot of neat stuff.”

And they are committed to making the street fair accessible for everyone in the community.

Sanford is out at the street fair providing a Mother’s Tent, where moms can cool off, change a diaper and breastfeed their kids.

“Fargo Street Fair is a family event, and that includes feeding babies. So we just provide a place to get out of the sun.”

Rocky Schneider with the Downtown Community Partnership says that the street fair doesn’t just help out the vendors they bring in.

Many of the businesses downtown also bring in a lot more foot traffic as well.

“Retailers open their doors, do sales, and I think they really embrace it that way. It’s something for everybody. You’ve got to treat it a little differently and be creative.” ROCKY

With the fair falling just after the anniversary of last year’s police ambush, and with the street fair believed to be the target of the attack, efforts have been made to increase the security of the fair, and keep people safe.

“We’ve upped our budgets for private and public security and barricades. But I think also just technology and relationships. We have a very coordinated team down here, we have a lot of cameras. So I think people are confident that anything that goes on down here we’ll be aware of.”