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Oktoberfest street party planned for Steveston

Richmond businessmen behind move to close part of No. 1 Road for beer, barbecue and show 'n' shine
Alan Campbell
Oktoberfest
Davood Khatami, right, and Dominique Jarry are two of several Steveston businessmen helping to put on a street party called OktoberfeSteveston at the end of September.Alan Campbell/Richmond News

A small part of Steveston Village will be shut off to vehicles at the end of September so an Oktoberfest-style street party can be held.

The 100 yard or so stretch of No. 1 Road — south of Moncton Street — will become a pedestrian-only zone from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24 in order for the first ever OktoberfeSteveston to take place.

As well as a Bavarian-style beer garden, organizers are planning a Mercedes-Benz vintage/new show ‘n’ shine, along with a photo booth, barbecue, tents, prizes and giveaways.

OktoberfeSteveston was crafted by local businessmen Davood Khatami, of Davood’s Bistro, and Dominque Jarry, of Sugar Art, both of whom were part of the group that organized Steveston World Cup Village in 2014.

“We had a feeling that we needed to put something on again in Steveston — something different,” said Khatami, who has the support of several other Steveston businesses, including Steveston Barbers and Steveston Seafood House, which is hosting the Bavarian beer garden.

“So, we thought, ‘let’s have a street party; let’s try it and see if it works.’

“It could be the start of something regular, who knows, right? We could maybe do this a few times a year, just like at Commercial Drive and Main Street in Vancouver, where they have a car-free zone and make it just for pedestrians.”

Khatami said the City of Richmond has given them permission to shut off part of the street for the 10 hours.

“Anybody, including other businesses, can get involved; they just need to get in touch with me,” added Khatami.

“It’s not my party, it’s for everyone in the community and we’re not intending to take business away from anyone; we actually hope to get more people coming into the village.”

Anyone interested in taking part in OktoberfeSteveston, should call Khatami at 604-277-2687.

Two years ago, Khatami and Jarry were among a group of local merchants behind Steveston World Cup Village, whereby 32 Steveston businesses “adopted” one of the 32 nations competing in the World Cup of soccer in Brazil.

Each day of the month-long tournament, Steveston World Cup Village celebrated a “National Day” at, and sometimes outside, one of the participating businesses.