Unify, Disperse, Repeat

For the past two years, I volunteered for the Annual Autumn Moon Festival Street Fair in Chinatown, San Francisco. Despite having to be away from home for up to 16 long hours with no monetary compensation, and being so busy that using the bathroom felt like the greatest thing on earth, the experience in itself was very rewarding. I had the chance to experience both sides of the fair; as a volunteer who became involved with the operations and what happened 'behind the scenes' and as a loitering pedestrian looking to have fun but unsure of what he's looking for. Every year, the fair becomes very crowded. The fair takes up approximately fifteen blocks. The booths take place on both the 'main road' as well as roads branched off to both sides, but only for a block. There are approximately sixty booths that range from small organizations, including Boy Scouts, personal businesses that sell CDs and DVDs, kettle corn demonstrations/sales, a musician, to bigger organizations such as Money Gram, Bank of America, Western Union, and Safeway. The fair is barricaded on all sides from cars, however there are a few intersections that DPT traffic control units and/or volunteers to moderate the flow of traffic.

The hours of the fair are 8Am to 6Pm on Saturday and Sunday. A group of devoted volunteers meet up months in advance to discuss the logistics of the fair and are assigned parts of the fair they will look after. Booth renters enter the fair as early at 6:30 to setup and to avoid traffic. At 8:00, pedestrians begin to patrol the streets and line up for prizes and free gifts. Volunteers are divided into groups. Some roam the areas looking for any unusual activity or turmoil, some stand guard at intersections to moderate traffic; some manage long lines, keeping them organized and neat to allow room for other pedestrians to walk. Once the fair gets well under way, lots of lines fill up-especially those with prizes as small as a newspaper bag or a balloon. Every 45 minutes or so, a crew of Lion Dancers march down the main road of the parade, performing. They are escorted by a group of volunteers who clear the road. For ten hours, pedestrians explore the fair, buy merchandise, line up and spin a wheel for a prize they might not even have a good use for, enjoy a showcase of exotic Hawaiian or Asian dancers, or singers on a stage, some even participate in Karaoke, and then there is a trivia for free prizes.

The fair lasts this way on Saturday until closing time. As Chinatown is filled with elderly who have an unquenchable thirst for freebies, some attempt to cut in line, some line up in as many booths as possible that are giving free gifts, some line up without even knowing what they are getting and others refuse to leave the line even after being told multiple times that the booth only has 60 more free bags and will run out after the lady with the brown hat. One year, a volunteer got trampled as the crowd discovered he was giving out free balloons. Another year, tourist almost got hurt when a box of free gifts ripped open and scattered over the floor. The chaos finally dies down around closing time. Volunteers roam the streets reminding booths that they have to leave by 7pm. Few actually do. Last minute shopping is done and finally all booths are closed up, and cars are escorted out of the fair. The crowd of tourists and pedestrians disperse for the night only to return the next day.