Gilroy
– Who knew a piece of awning could be so charming?
Zipping around town, residents have probably noticed the several
banners embellishing the city’s poles with splashes of color and
warm words. Although it’s easy to take the banners for granted,
they have a history deeper than some might realize.
Gilroy – Who knew a piece of awning could be so charming?
Zipping around town, residents have probably noticed the several banners embellishing the city’s poles with splashes of color and warm words. Although it’s easy to take the banners for granted, they have a history deeper than some might realize.
In the late 1980s, the city was shelling out about $15,000 a year to dress up poles with holiday decorations and banners. But the decor didn’t fare well against the elements, new styles were creeping past the banners’ outdated designs and the cost to maintain the program was questionable.
When Santa’s tired eyes began falling off holiday banners, the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce stepped in and offered to purchase new holiday pole adornments. The city agreed, and with rolling momentum, the chamber teamed up with the Gilroy Visitors Bureau, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association and the Gilroy Downtown Association. Together the groups proposed to take over the program from the city both financially and logistically.
The chamber’s renewed program aimed to make the banners a year-round endeavor with four sets of seasonally changing banners. New banners with fresh designs were raised throughout the city’s streets as well as in City Hall’s parking lot.
Designed by Fresno-based Sierra Designs, each banner motif sticks around for about five to six years before being replaced by a new design. When it’s time for replacement, Sierra Designs presents basic sample art with different combinations of graphics and words to a panel of members from various Gilroy associations. After surveying each design, the panel votes on a final banner that stays up for three to five months before being swapped for the next season’s set of banners.
One criteria when judging potential designs is to consider how Gilroy itself is evolving, said Susan Valenta, the chamber’s executive director.
“We want a different look through the year, and we want the banners to reflect the changing look of the community,” she said.
The banners that advertise the Garlic Festival and hang May through August feature a Velcro attachment that can be recreated according to the festival’s changing dates.
Banners are cut from a synthetic, fade-resistant and durable material called Sunbrella, which also is often used for awning and sail covers. A high-intensity silk screen hugs the banners for added protection. Special brackets, installed permanently on the sides of the poles, help support the banners and secure them in place.
Only certain poles throughout the city can accommodate the brackets, and banners are placed in high-traffic areas. Currently, Valenta said, the chamber is trying to get brackets installed on the poles on Monterey Street between Sixth and Eighth streets, where the poles now stand bare.
Swapping banners each season only takes a few hours, Valenta said. Banners in their off-season are stored in a warehouse maintained by Sierra Designs. A thorough steam cleaning once every few years, though a bit rough on the material, helps keep the banners free of exhaust, soot and other deposits.
The banners are intended to provide a “welcoming, uplifting” message for Gilroy residents and tourists, Valenta said.
“It’s a community program, which really reflects what Gilroy’s all about – working collaboratively,” she said. “We want to include everyone.”
Glenn Gurries, a managing partner at Old City Hall Restaurant at Fifth and Monterey streets, said he appreciates the banners even though he’s grown used to seeing them there.
“It’s nice that people take the initiative to do things that promote the city,” he said.
Valenta credits the program’s 15-year smooth run largely to volunteer help. She especially applauded Phil Buchanan, a recent retiree who ran a dentistry in Gilroy for more than 30 years. Buchanan, deemed “the banner man” by the chamber, drives around the city periodically to make sure all banners are hanging as they should.
“He has been such a super volunteer,” Valenta said. “He’s been a part of this project from way back, and we’ve worked closely for many years. As a community, we’re fortunate to have him and all the volunteers, because they want to see Gilroy be all it can be.”
