Honfest crowds no fun in Hampden

I couldn't agree more. Honestly, what is it that Denise Whiting's Honfest festival brings to Hampden? I stupidly every year do one walk down the avenue to see what's there and who's there. The answer year after year is "crap" and nobody of interest. How many fairs does Hampden need? Vendors selling cheap trinckety jewelry, t-shirts and bad food. And why in the world is there an olive oil company there? What kind of numb skull thinks that's a good marketing/PR plan. I live a block north and lose my parking all weekend and am forced to leave the area for the bulk of those 2 days. Why in the world has the city let Mrs. Whiting extended this "crapfest" to a 2 day event? I think the competing hons all need to be asked one question: "where are you from?" The answer assuredly won't be Hampden, and when all those answers come in why don't we tell Denise to take this PATHETIC, LAME, DRAWNOUT FESTIVAL to a Walmart parking lot. Denise, your idea of fun (actually, your money making skeam to sell HON crap) is old and tired, END IT!!!!!!!!!

Any cheese to go with that whine?

It's two days out of the year.(Grow up)

Get over it.....thats how communities come together. Try parking in Highlandtown on the weekend. You can always move!

I think what Hampden and the merchants are doing is great. I think the ideas for both Miracle on 34th St and Hon Fest are great! Keep up the good work. Hampden needs this..get involved and STOP WHINING or RELOCATE to another great neighborhood in the inner city-where would that be?

Response to Hamdenite....a little radicale don't you think...selling Baltimore's infamous HON STUFF is better than a lot of other BS!! You call yourself a Hampdenite.

Wow, you really think people make money organizing a festival that is FREE? Ask the many, many locally owned businesses what HonFest does for them. As for parking, HonFest has always received permission to use the lower lot at the Rotunda, the Zurich lot and the school parking lot and has always considered a shuttle from the school - would you donate the shuttle, gas and your time?!! As for Olive Oil - Pompeiian Olive Oil is made in Baltimore - that is why they are there! They even used to have Clipper City beer but they did not make enough money to make it worth their while! As for two festival, in case you have forgotten... there was ONE in June in the early nineties, which they stopped having so Whiting used her own money to start this, which has yet to make a DIME! HampdenFest was restarted some years back, but it too suffers from lack of funds. By the way in case you missed it, WHiting has started a group to encourage kids in Hampden to stay in school. She has always hired local kids and has always made sure that they have either stayed in school or gotten their GED. She has worked very hard to keep Hampden a fun, safe place to visit. You should be so proud of Hampden it is a great place for families and small businesses to grow and prosper. You are quite lucky you can walk to the store or to school, or church! Sorry that you have to contend with parking issues, why not put out lawn chairs in street like they do during a snowstorm? Hon?!

wen you are wrong on a few points

1)"You are quite lucky you can walk to the store or to school, or church"
Most Hampden residents can walk to the store if they want to buy art, antiques and overpriced coffee. If you want groceries you have to go to 41st street or 25th street. If you want to buy clothing you either need a car or should be prepared for a long bus ride.
2) You think that Denise Whiting doesn't make money off of Honfest. While I agree that her charity work is worthwile she also uses Honfest as free publicity for her restaurant and bar. All of the news stories about Honfest cost her nothing, that much publicity on all of the television stations and in the Sunpapers would cost her many thousands of dollars.

As for parking you don't live here, you live in Pasedena. You don't have to spend 30 minutes or more trying to find a parking space within a reasonable distance to your home at $4 a gallon, we do.

Over the years I have learned to look long and hard at what seem to be altruistic gestures and see what the full motives behind them are.

Patti wrote:

I think what Hampden and the merchants are doing is great. I think the ideas for both Miracle on 34th St and Hon Fest are great! Keep up the good work. Hampden needs this..get involved and STOP WHINING or RELOCATE to another great neighborhood in the inner city-where would that be?

Patti do you live 1 block from the "miracle on 34th Street"? I do. Do you have to put up with Keswick Road and Chestnut avenue having 1 block long traffic backups in both directions for several weeks at night? We do
Do you have to be home as soon as possible or have to wait an hour for parking some nights while this is going on? We do
It's great for the people that drive through or walk through and look at all of the lights and then drive home, what about the effects on the people that live nearby and have to deal with the traffic and parking.

Oh my. Did you know Baltimore is one of the easiest cities to park in on the entire East Coast? I can understand some of the cultural reservations people have about HonFest with the whole Blue Collar sensitivity thing, or for me personally, the joke of "Hon" being WAY past its prime. But seriously, if you can't handle a little traffic and crowds for an urban festival then DON'T LIVE IN A CITY. There are plenty of suburbs and rural areas within easy driving distance of where you are right now.

Hey Mark.
I live on 36th ST. I love Hon Fest, the Miracle, the Mayor's Parade and all of the community events that bring attention (as well as almighty dollars) to our neighborhood and its local businesses. It's two days a year... you can deal with the parking. And, your woes of having to walk "all the way to 41st st" fall on deaf ears. I'm sure you could use the exercise.

Also, it's not just about Hampden. The whole "Hon" thing (ridiculous as it may be) is a celebration of the quirkiness of Baltimore as a whole. John Water's seem to be biting that hand that fed him a bit by denouncing the "Hon" thing.

By the way, I have no idea why the forum labeled me as being from Silver Spring.

Hey Miles
You shouldn't go around trying to insult people like you do. It shows your lack of education and breeding. No one tried to insult you. You are just showing that you are ignorant and contributed nothing. I can easily walk to 41st Stret however many can't.
What I object to is that no plans are put into place to deal with the effects on the rest of the neighborhood during these "events".

Let me just start by saying that I have lived in Hampden 25 out of the 29 years of my life. I was born here, we moved and came back when I was 4. I grew up around here. The HON fest disgusts me. I have always seen it as a way to make fun of and insult the people from my neighborhood - Bottom line. And they can’t even get it right! That is the hilarious part. I never heard anyone ever say HON that was from Hampden in all my years of living here.(Until Honfest) And, If I ever did hear that, I would automatically think that person was from Dundalk or Essex. This is a money grubbing circus that I despise the thought of every year. You are telling me Denise doesn’t make a dime at Café Hon during this? Why doesn’t Denise start a “YO” fest over in Park Heights. I don’t think that would fly over so well would it. To me it is “Yuppy” fest (you don‘t like that do you, being insulted, huh?). You all can come here to my neighborhood, take up all the parking, get drunk, crowd the streets and have fun insulting the people from my neighborhood. Don’t even try to say that this doesn’t insult people from Hampden. Back a few years ago, when I decided that I would take a stroll down to see what was going on, I read that, Café Hon was featuring the “Hampden Cuisine” Eat what the people of Hampden eat. A slice of meatloaf, white bread and potato chips. I have never eaten that in my life, nor have I ever heard of anyone from Hampden eating that. Now, tell me that isn’t derogatory. After that, I wouldn’t degrade myself to even walk close to “The Avenue” during Honfest.
And you say “walk where you need to go” during the Honfest. Why so I can be pointed and laughed at? I look fairly young (a lot younger than my age) and the people of my neighborhood are consistently made fun of for the “stroller parade” I have 2 children by the way.* So yous says I should pack them there kids up and walks my self TA church, hon?*(figured I would use the correct lingual pronunciation there, since I am just ignorant white trash, right?). Ramblings of the white trash mothers pushing there strollers, spitting on the ground with their barefoot children along side of them, was all a nice feature a few years ago in the writings of the owner of Atomic Books. I did know his name; however, I tend to block ignorant, stupid people out of my head.
And Denise hires kids from the neighborhood? Hmmmm ok, yea, to work in the back maybe. Surely not where the respectable people are. At least that is how she was when I was younger. If you were from Hampden you could not work upfront. I went to get a job there because they were hiring. I filled out my application, she began telling me all about waitressing there, when I could start, the hours I would be working… etc. Then she looked of at my application and said,“oh but I am sorry we are not hiring right now, I will call you if we get an opening” Was it my experience? Ummm no I had had plenty of experience being as I was working as a waitress all through High School, never been fired. Good references…. She may have changed her ways since then, but NEVER have I stepped foot in that establishment since.
Oh…. So I should move right????? I should be pushed out or should I say forced to sell my house because some outsiders want to come in destroy the close knit community I grew up in?
Will this rant of mine change anything, no; however, I should hope it will give some perspective.

well I guess my post was edited. I can't even call my self names... huh? ok... all the "*" in that post were my words being taken out. but if you don't then could have left the word "trash" so everyone would at least get what was say... ugh... whatever!

What??? that was supposed to say, "They could have left" - please ignore the "but if you don't then"