Oct. 16 was the second Why Not Wednesday, one part of the split event solution for Arthop made by Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias on behalf of the City of Fresno.
The decision made on July 31 to split Arthop in two was based on a few main reasons: health and safety concerns involving the events organization with vendors, the lack of police and funding required to clean and maintain the event at large.
As WnW attempts to gain momentum within the eyes of the public, vendors and attendees of the event have many different thoughts about the changes made.
Vendor Fabian Cifuentes of Vibing Stoned believes that even with the added security it might not do much to increase the safety of those who attend.
”Sometimes there was fights,” Cifuentes said. “I mean it’s youngsters, it’s gonna happen, security or not.”
Additionally, the event itself always seemed safe to Vendor CJ Dubois of Create N Destroy Vintage and attendee Jose Lastiri.
Dubois stated he had never seen any altercations himself, having been a long time vendor from Arthop.
“Before, I felt safe. Everybody was walking around, not as much cops at all. Everybody was still safe,” Lastiri said.
The most obvious difference between WnW and Arthop before the change was the lack of turnout .
“It’s still the same vibe. Less people than what I’m used to seeing, but it’s still really cool,” attendee Alberto Ortiz said.
Others shared a more disappointing tone about the state of the event.
“The vibe is not like how it used to be, very bland, very boring,” attendee Jocylen Alejo said.
She added that the crowd decrease along with the lack of musical talent had brought down the atmosphere.
Two attendees, Olivia Wickman and Stephanie Charuc share the idea that the feeling is not the same at Arthop expressing it’s a lot calmer, less crowded and missing that “chaotic” feel.
The lack of clothing vendors left attendee Sophie Dosanjh feeling disappointed. In previous times, clothing vendors would be a big draw to many at Arthop.
Vendors have been hit hard with the lack of people. Vendor Alan Feria of CRF Vintage believes that the trade-off of event organization versus what vendors have been able to make after the change is questionable.
“Was it really worth it,” Alan Feria said. “It was okay before then. There were no real complaints on my end.”
Feria added that his business and many others have been hurt due to the change with the turnout being less than desired.
This claim was reinforced by Cifuentes, Dubois and other vendors as well.
Many had noted that the community should have been consulted more on the changes made
“Everybody’s used to the first Thursday of every month, ” Cifuentes said. “It’s like a cultural thing, you know?”
“We’re the people, we’re the ones that make this [Why Not Wednesday]. Without us this won’t happen,” Lastiri said.
Although there’s a sense of dissatisfaction, there’s also a sense of hope among most.
There’s potential according to Dubois, to him not a lot of people are accepting of the change.
“You can’t just give up on something, there’s no other option, you just gotta make do with what you can do,” he said.
Dubois felt that WnW is starting off pretty well. Having attended Arthop as a vendor for years, he said that the turnout at this time just feels the same way it did when he first started out.
“This is only the second WnW so I feel like it’s barely starting to get up,” Wickman said. “Right now it’s slow, but in the future it’s definitely going to get bigger and bigger.”
