The Buzz: Street fair, umbrellas, holiday lights debut this year. Here’s a preview – Redding Record Searchlight

A street fair in downtown Redding, Umbrella Alley, Electric Alley, a welcome to downtown Redding monument sign and a holiday light festival.

They’re all part of a citywide pride project that the Redding Chamber of Commerce announced nearly two years ago, and they should debut later this year.

“I think it’s just as important as it was before for people in our community to have something positive to celebrate,” Chamber President Jake Mangas said of the Redding City Identity Project. “And this is about improving messaging, aesthetics and experiences in our city.

“We got the funding to see a lot of these projects through to fruition at this time, so our goal is to do just that, and nothing related to the coronavirus has shifted our focus regarding the project.”

The chamber reached its $500,000 goal with the help of funders like Sierra Pacific Industries, the McConnell Foundation, Dignity Health, Redding Rancheria, Josh Barker Real Estate Advisors, Shasta Regional Medical Center and Black Bear Diner.

Here’s what to look for over the next several months:

Downtown street fair

Amy Miller, who owns Sketch & Press at California and Division streets, grew up in Oregon, and remembers the street fairs in Eugene, their energy and how they brought people together.

That’s why Miller sought a grant from the identity project to do a street fair downtown. She got a $2,500 grant to help with, among other things, permitting and promoting the event.

The fair is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 9 on California Street essentially in front of Miller’s store and Theory Collaborative, a coffee shop. She hopes to have about 20 vendors, some food trucks, children’s activities and maybe live music. Sam LaRobardiere of Theory and Ann Wallach Thomas of Shasta Living Streets are helping.

“It will be more of an artisan market, so vendors will focus on artists” and crafters, Miller said. “It will be a celebration of the small market artisan movement that seems to be going on.”

Miller hopes to stage the fairs twice a year, so look for one in the fall.

Garden of Lights

Who knew a holiday light festival would be so controversial?

But when the Redding City Council last fall voted to give $500,000 to the Garden of Lights at Turtle Bay Exploration Park, there were outcries on social media about misplaced priorities.

For the record, the money came from the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau budget, which gets a portion of hotel tax revenue, $1.14 million this fiscal year, to market the area. On that note, organizers hope the display will bring national attention to Redding.

The Garden of Lights is Nov. 27-Dec. 27 and will be open Wednesday-Sunday. It will encompass 10 acres inside the McConnell Arboretum. Ticket prices will be announced later this year. The light show also has a website.

The Redding City Identity Project gave $35,000 to the Garden of Lights to help with the design work. The attraction is being designed by 3.Fromme Design, which has worked with the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Balboa Park and the Oakland City Zoo, according to its website.

Umbrella Alley

There will be more than 100 pink, blue, green and yellow umbrellas and strung up along a 100-foot span between Yuba and Placer streets in the Market Street Promenade. The umbrellas will hang above from an archway.

Gerlinger Steel, Signarama and Muse Concrete are helping the chamber stage what they hope will become a tourist stop. Umbrella Alley will be a seasonal attraction, probably on display between Memorial Day and October.

Mangas said the city of Redding donated the encroachment permit and the identity project has the money to maintain it, though it encourages businesses, organizations and individuals to donate to help pay for replacement umbrellas.

“We have had many businesses step up, saying to let us know how we can sponsor umbrellas,” Mangas said.

Electric Alley

Think of it as a companion to Umbrella Alley, Electric Alley will go live on Yuba Street near the new K2 Market Center project in about two weeks.

Electric Alley is a mural by day that lights up at dark and will be computer animated. Jack Burgess did the art work.

“We think that particular alley is going to get a lot of foot traffic with the K2 project. It’s basically a piece of public art,” Mangas said.

As with Umbrella Alley, the Redding City Identity Project has money set aside to maintain Electric Alley.

The plan is to have the alley lit up at least through 2025.

Welcome to downtown Redding

The streets in downtown Redding are changing as redevelopment work continues.

As part of the streetscape project there will be a new welcome to downtown Redding sign at Market and Tehama on the south side of the street. The sign should be up by the end of 2020.

RAD Studio Architecture of Redding is doing the design work. Signarama, GHD and Gerlinger Steel also are contributing.

Last summer, when plans for the sign were first revealed, Mangas told me he hopes it is something people will be able to touch and interact with.

“Hopefully people with take their photo in front of the sign. It hits all the marks for us in terms of aesthetics … and branding,” Mangas said.

We know it’s a traffic headache, we want to help

Have you caught the TV commercial by the Redding Rancheria?

Michael Hollowell, the tribe’s supervising attorney, wearing a red “Support the Tribe” T-shirt, declares to viewers that the South Bonnyview-Interstate 5 corridor is one of the most congested areas in Redding.

“During rush hour, the turn lanes back up and block traffic flow, creating delays and unsafe conditions for all of us. Fixing this existing problem is going to be expensive,” Hollowell says.

Of course, the rancheria wants to relocate its Win-River Casino & Resort to freeway frontage property just south of the South Bonnyview-Interstate 5 interchange, a plan that has divided the community.

One reason people oppose the plan is that they fear traffic congestion with the Save Mart shopping center, potentially a new Costco and the casino crowding that corridor.

But the tribe believes the casino project would help the situation.

“Redding Rancheria looks forward to being part of the solution by helping fund major traffic improvements as part of the casino relocation project. Working together, we can make it happen. Redding Rancheria, proud to play our part,” Hollowell says in closing the TV spot.

Stay tuned.

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David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly “Buzz on the Street” column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-225-8219. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.

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