South Park's Porchfest brings neighborhood together, without permits
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The scene at the first South Park Porchfest in 2016. Photo: Howard Blackson
South Park this weekend is again hosting Porchfest, its annual neighborhood party that is one part hyperlocal music festival and one part act of civil disobedience.
Why it matters: The unpermitted gathering aims to make the case that friends and strangers across age groups can gather safely without bureaucratic intervention, parading from porch to porch to enjoy fuss-free live music.
How it works: Neighbors offer up their porches as festival stages, and crowds gather in their lawns, sidewalks and streets, with a safety-in-numbers approach boosted by lawn chairs, coolers, strollers and wagons to help occupy space.
- This year's event features bands performing on six porches, starting at 1pm Sunday, May 4 around 29th and Kalmia streets in South Park.
Driving the news: Performers include senior citizens, club bands and local kids.
- This year's lineup includes a true headliner: Quino McWhinney. The San Diego musician has toured the globe with his group Big Mountain, best known for their cover of Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way," which peaked at six on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1994.
Flashback: Urban designer Howard Blackson helped organize South Park's first Porchfest in 2016, borrowing an idea that has become a national trend.
- Blackson said his family and neighbors were attracted to the idea after a festival that started with a neighborhood bike parade ended with kids and adults being separated to allow for alcohol sales. He said the park became a labyrinth of security fencing.
- "San Diego's special event permit requirements ruined the spirit of an outdoor, walking around, and bicycle-parade music festival," he said.
Between the lines: The first event in 2016, he thinks, proved that you don't need a long list of rules or expensive permits to have a safe gathering.
- People, young and old, play and enjoy music on a Sunday afternoon," Blackson said. "Nobody has been hurt and we've organized eight or so over the past nine years."
The other side: A Boston-area Porchfest was forced this year to impose some restrictions after it grew too big.
- San Diego's event tends to draw a few hundred people over the course of the day, and if it's generated any complaints, they haven't grown into anything formal.
What they're saying: He hopes the event inspires kids, as they age, to socialize with their neighbors and create their own fun.
- "The kids are all right, and it's really great to watch them play music, sing, and perform as they grow up in their neighborhood," he said.