| Salt Lake City |
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12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
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| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
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24 |
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6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
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6 |
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16 |
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2 |
4 |
10 |
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4 |
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12 |
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4 |
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2 |
11 |
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| SUI |
3 |
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6 |
11 |
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| NED |
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Ethnic Village stalls 'wolf'
Talks halt effort by creditors to take down tents
By Jerry Johnston
Deseret News staff writer
Like Little Nell tied to the tracks, the Ethnic Village near Gateway has been fighting to fend off foreclosure.
On Friday, the locomotive showed up.
NAPAH, organizers of the village, didn't have $65,500 to pay rental for the tent and for a spell it looked like the tent might be coming down. One panel, in fact, was removed.
But after some negotiations, the village made it through the day. And because of safety concerns, prospects are good it will be around — at least most of it — until Sunday.
"I don't know how many lives we're supposed to have," said Esther Yang, the Asian representative on the NAPAH board. "It's been like 'The Sopranos' around here. Dramas should take place on television, but problems like this should be handled more civilly."
Yang's reference to "lives" has to do with the hassles the village has weathered over the past two weeks. When the village, in deference to the American Indians, aban doned plans to have a "beer garden" on site, the decision cost thousands of dollars in projected profits. At one point the power was shut off, at another a generator caught fire and the tent had to be evacuated. Sparse crowds early on and the spectre of foreclosure have also haunted the place.
"As much stuff as we've been through, we're still standing," board member Mark George said. "The message is, we've gone as far as we can with nothing to go on. And if we did this with nothing, imagine what we could do with something."
Inside the village, the vendors have their own take on things.
"Everyone has their own story," said Weaseltail Garcia, a American Indian vendor from Colorado. "I thought our fees went to pay for the tent. And where is the governor in all this?"
Garcia and others feel a combination of forces have combined to bedevil the village. Most of the NAPAH board members are artists or performers by nature, so hard-nosed business acumen has not been their forte. Some say the Salt Lake City business community has not backed the village. Others don't understand the hard-nosed attitude of creditors.
"We will pay them all," said Yang. "They should know that."
Mayor Rocky Anderson held a press conference at the Village Tuesday to pump up interest. And, indeed, business picked up afterward. But a sluggish start and what some see as unwise contract choices have made for a bumpy ride. For now, however, the village is staggering toward the finish line on Sunday.
"It hasn't been a financial success, but it has been popular with the public," George said.
Garcia is less philosophical.
"I came here to make money," he said. "But I feel like a volunteer."
Undaunted, Salt Lake City's Ethnic Villagers are now searching for a more permanent structure and site. They've seen the last they want to see of tents.
E-MAIL: jerjohn@desnews.com
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February 23, 2002
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