For 50 years, the Hessler Street Fair was the premiere Cleveland hippie festival, founded in 1969, in the salad days of the counterculture on the little brick-lined street on the Case Western Reserve campus, where many hippie/creative/artsy young people lived. Fifty years later, in 2019, the organizers pulled the plug on what was now a two-day festival every May where old hippies could re-live their youth, and young people could get a taste of what it was like (Vendors sold tie-day apparel in all sizes!)
The fair was much mourned, because there wasn’t anything else like it, a strictly local event taking place on a residential street, where residents sold ice cream and crafts from their porches, and an eclectic crew of rootsy folk, reggae, blues and reggae artists graced the stage at the end of the street.
Apparently, the moans of the Hessler Street loyalists had an impact because the fair is coming back! It will take place from noon-7pm on Saturday October 3 as a one-day event. While there is no list or performers or artisans yet, they promise it will feature “ music, fine art, food, lemonade, knowledge and inspiration,” and “appeal to generations young and old.” Stay tuned.
