Jim Boren of the FresnoBee’s OpinionTalk has opened a comments section to public ideas on how to revitalize downtown Fresno.  Mayor Ashley Swearengin and her team are making downtown revitalization a priority and Mr. Boren promisies to make whatever submitted opinions known to the Mayor herself.

 So, take a look at the article and feel free to submit your opinions here:

http://fresnobeehive.com/opinion/2009/06/how_would_you_revitalize_downt.html

For those that don’t know, Patrick Contreras is throwing a block party/record release party in the Tower District on June 20, 2009. It’s sure to be a great, big… great-big show! Check out the details and promo video below:

The Patrick Contreras Band

“The American Rock Violinist”

Tower District CD Release Show

in the Tower Theater parking lot

6.20.09

CD Release Block Party

to benefit Tower Projects

Saturday, June 20

6:00-10:00 p.m. behind the Tower Theatre

Local musician Patrick Contreras is truly an original. His unique rock
violin sound has caught the attention of people across the United States and Europe .

Patrick has performed at famed venues such as The Mint in Los Angeles and
Nickies on Haight Street in San Francisco.

Locally he has performed sell-out shows at the Visalia Fox Theatre, The Best of Fresno event at Engelmann Cellars, Fresno State Satellite Student Union, Fresno City College
Amphitheatre, Fresno High School Royce Hall, The Tower Theatre, Arte Americas , Club Fred, The Crossroads, The Starline, Full Circle Brewing Company
and The Cellar Door in Visalia .

Patrick’s proudest recent accomplishment was gaining the attention of B.B.
King and being asked to open for him locally at the Warnor’s Theatre on New Years Eve for another sold out event. Additionally, he was the recipient of the 2009 Horizon Award in Fresno and was named The Fresno Bee’s solo artist of the year for 2007 and 2008.

Patrick will be releasing his very first CD, “The American Rock Violinist”
on June 20, 2009 at an epic, outdoor concert behind the Tower Theatre beginning at 6pm with food vendors and a beer garden plus a live performance by

The Patrick Contreras Band,

this block party will be the premier event of the summer!

Patrick’s new album “The American Rock Violinist” reflects Patrick’s influences from Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughn to Led Zepplin. This album will introduce America to what he can do on an electric violin.

Tickets to the CD release party are only $10 (children 9 and under free with
a paid adult admission) and are available at the Tower Theatre, Sequoia Brewing, Irene’s Cafe, The Landmark and Livingstone’s in the Tower District. Tickets are also available on-line at

www.towertheatrefresno.org.

For more information, visit

myspace.com/patrickcontreras

or call (559) 497-8362.

Contact: Joey Fernandez, (559)213-6021 email: joey.fernandez@att.net

Pre-sale tickets for the Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and John Mellencamp concert at Chukchansi Park go on sale Monday, May 25th on www.bobdylan.com  at 10:00a.m. (not sure if it’s eastern or pacific, so don’t take any chances).

It appears that pre-sale tickets get in 30 minutes early for this general admission show (I think…maybe…don’t count on it).

This’ll be a blast, a treat for all of us old-timers who remember the concerts at Ratcliffe and the Day on the Green shows at Oakland Coliseum!

Here’s to hoping that Fresno starts to get more outdoor shows at the stadium based on this concert’s success.  Jimmy Buffet, Dave Matthews, who else would you like to see?

Also coming to the Fulton Mall:

www.revfest.org

RevFest motorcycle parade is May 29th at 5:30.  On the 30th nine local bands and a motorcycle show will fill up the mall.  Scooters will be gathering in front of Milano’s.  It appears that Meet in the Middle will also happen on Saturday, so downtown should be hopping!

www.hyefest.org

Armenian Food and Music on the evening of June 5th and all day and night on June 6th.  Play backgammon?  Come early on Saturday for the tournament.

Craig

Memorial Day Weekend is in full force. Nice weather, a number of fun
things to do; don’t make Tuesday a “Monday” after a great
three-day weekend.

Plan on meeting your friends and co-workers after-work at the
Smokehouse.

Authentic Downtown-Fresno barbecue, food and drink specials, Live Music,
and if you can’t stay long pick up an order to go.

Avoid the rush-hour drive home; make Tuesdays at the Smokehouse your
regular spot to connect with co-workers and friends. Enjoy free wireless
Internet to check your emails or finish some last minute work; better
yet, get caught up on your Facebook or Twitter profiles. Music starts at
5:30, finishing at 7:30; plenty of time to get home for your prime-time
viewing, being rested and ready for work the next day.

Musician extraordinaire David Hull will be performing this Tuesday and
starting in June, Cole Fonseca will transform the Smokehouse into a Juke
Joint every Tuesday with his Blues/Rock style.

Tuesday’s (After-work) at the Smokehouse
1231 Van Ness, Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 237-1184

http://www.yelp.com/biz/smokehouse-fresno
http://www.yelp.com/map/smokehouse-fresno

Help spread the word, Support Downtown, Support Local MUSIC!

Take a stroll down the Fulton Mall and enjoy some of the Valley’s finest farm fresh produce and agricultural goods, straight from local growers and producers with the “Market on the Mall” Fulton Mall Farmers Market. The Market is located on the Fulton Mall at Mariposa, and is held every Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 AM till 2:00 PM and will run into the fall. The Market’s central location and midday time make it convenient for thousands of Downtown workers, jurors, hotel guests, FAX bus riders, and EOC voucher clients.

The “Market on the Mall” is a cooperative venture between the Fresno County EOC, the Downtown Association of Fresno and the City of Fresno. It celebrated its grand opening on Wednesday May 13th with remarks from Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.

“The Market on the Mall is a great example of combining resources creatively to serve a range of needs in our community,” said Mayor Swearengin.  “I am proud to see that our Valley’s agricultural heritage is playing a role in the revitalization of downtown Fresno.”

Here are some pictures from opening day:

For Market information and a location map, view or print out the Market on the Mall poster.

http://www.downtownfresno.org/market

This week, an article in the Fresno Bee talked about the South Van Ness Industrial Area being a “forgotten part of downtown” for a number of reasons.  Among other problems, it has no catchy brand name, the streets are in disrepair, and it lies outside of the 99/41/180 freeway triangle.

But, these attributes haven’t stopped a small group of local and family owned businesses from keeping their doors open and it hasn’t kept the City of Fresno PARC’s department from their plans of building a large skate park and a 13,000 square-foot commercial building called Vagabond Station.

  The new skate park will be located on what is now a field on Hamilton Avenue and Sarah Street in Downtown Fresno and will include a replica of an swimming pool that used to exist at the Vagabond Motel before the lofts were built in it’s place.  The facility will include an observation deck overlooking the skating area and the cool feature of on-site cameras recording video that can be downloaded by the skaters and uploaded to an iPod or the internet.

Once opened, Vagabond Station will operate from 8am-10pm daily.

We anxiously await the construction of this exciting new development and all other plans from the new Downtown and Community Revitalization Department.  We’ll post updates as they become available.

~559rell

Arts & Entertainment Commentator, FresnoFusion.com

Related articles:

http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1422086.html

http://archop.org/2009/05/south-van-ness/

A new project called the Fultonia Live/Work Village was unveiled this past Wednesday at a press conference by Terance Frazier of  TFS Investments.

The new project is a rehab of an existing apartment complex on Fulton Street between the Tower District and Downtown Fresno that includes 40 apartment units and 10 offices. The building is to be gutted over the next four to five months and the developers say that the apartments will be of high quality, but low price, costing approximately $500 per unit per month.

An interesting part of the plan proposal includes naming the area the SOTOW district, or  South of Tower.

Here are some pictures of Fultonia Village as it exists before the changes:

For other news coverage and information, check out these links:

http://www.tycousa.com/blog/unique-fresno-housing-project-comes-to-life/

http://archop.org/2009/05/fultonia/

Project design and information (pdf)

For video, click here: http://www.ksee24.com/news/local/45535037.html?video=YHI&t=a

Update (5/31/09):  Thanks to a Fusion comment from Eric Tienken of Tyco General, we bring you the official web page of the Fultonia Village project here @ www.fultonia.com

Thanks Eric!

SUDZ IN THE CITY
Saturday May 23rd, 2009
Chukchansi Park - 1800 Tulare Street
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
 

Sudz in the City - Central California’s premier microbrewery and music festival, celebrates its 15th anniversary on May 23rd at Chukchansi Park, and kicks off Memorial Day weekend in style with the best party of the year! Sample the creations of top brewmasters from across California, plus great live music, food from great vendors and much more. Last year, Fresno Magazine named Sudz in the City as Fresno’s “Best Annual Event” for 2008. This year’s entertainment lineup includes the MoFo Party Band, Midnight Run, the Jay Rossette Project, Cattie Ness & the Revenge, Roadhouse, and 3 Guys Playin the Blues. 
More info…

SUDZ IN THE CITY
Saturday May 23rd, 2009
Chukchansi Park - 1800 Tulare Street
4:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Tickets: Advance - $25; At the door - $30; Designated Driver - $10 
Online: tickets.com

Ticket Locations:
Chukchansi Park Box Office: 559-320-TIXS
Downtown Association Office - 2014 Tulare Street #417
Bobby Salazar’s - Champlain & Perrin
Bobby Salazar’s - Tower District
Hero’s Sports Lounge & Pizza Co. - 820 Van Ness
Hooters - 7735 N Blackstone
Logan’s Roadhouse @ River Park - 7507 N Blackstone
Milano Restaurant - 1243 Fulton Mall
Old Town Saloon - 450 Clovis Avenue, Clovis
Sequoia Brewing Company - Champlain & Perrin
Sequoia Brewing Company - 777 East Olive
Tower Theatre - 815 East Olive Avenue

From over 80 submissions (of one form or another), we have culled the
finalists to two basic options: (1) Grown-Up, and (2) Fun.

Take a look at the options at
http://www.fresno.gov/NR/rdonlyres/9464FE3A-C6F0-4AD5-A323-742C251F8597/13733/VanNessMariposasigndesigns.pdf.

Then please email me at Elliott.Balch@fresno.gov and indicate the following:

– Your preference of (1) Grown-Up, i.e. the top two plates, or (2)
Fun, i.e. the bottom four plates.
– From the Fun options, your favorite two from (a), (b), (c), or (d).
– Any thoughts on fonts. You can see some font choices in the options for Fun.
– Your thoughts on the destinations indicated in the Grown-Up version

Responses are due Monday, May 18.  Any other comments are also
welcome!  Thanks for your interest, and for helping make downtown
revitalization fun.

Elliott Balch
Downtown Revitalization Manager
City of Fresno
2600 Fresno Street, Room 2156
Fresno, CA 93721
Main: (559) 621-8350
Direct: (559) 621-8366
www.fresno.gov

Fun is happening Downtown! Two new festivals are coming soon to the Fulton Mall:
Fulton RevFest, Motorcycle Parade and Show, May 29-30. Info at www.RevFest.org.
Fresno HyeFest, Armenian Food and Culture, June 5-6. Info at www.HyeFest.org.

For a picture of the current sign, see our previous post here: http://www.fresnofusion.com/blog/?p=308

 FresnoFusion.com would like to congratulate The View Looks Good From Here, Fresno as they recently celebrated a year on the blogging scene!!! It can be tough work at times and we really appreciate all that they bring to the blogosphere and the Fresno community.

Especially cool about their newest audio episode (Episode 26) is that it features artist and developer Reza Assemi in a candid interview where all things interesting and important are discussed in a way we had only hoped to hear. They discussed:

“downtown develepment
iron bird lofts/fulton plaza
what got reza started - the pearl building
the cultural arts district and master builder status
the met & money downtown
what would get downtown going, the PBID & perception
what’s holding downtown back
debts II society, sega, swede fest & litigation
reza’s art
gardening
where reza eats dinner
& finally bear vs shark”

I promise you it’s worth a listen, but “there are words and ideas that some find objectionable. be warned.”

Again, congratulations to The View Looks Good From Here, Fresno on their first year!