Department of Public Safety

Last month, Ann Chance, the City's Special Events Coordinator, had a nice write up in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch along with six others who play a vital role in our local arts community. Here's Ann's item:

Ann Chance, St. Louis special events program executive

Ann Chance didn't attend special events school. Who even offers such a major? She just loves a good party.

"I was always the mom planning the school carnival or the movie night," said Chance, who has five grown children.

Chance is the liaison between St. Louis and the hundreds of block parties, charity runs, church picnics, parades and large street fairs that pack the St. Louis calendar each year. Need to know how far away food stands must be from the porta-potties? Or how to get a permit to close a city street? Or how to use the city's new water wagon? Chance is your go-to person.

"It became clear that, as the number of events in the city has grown, we needed someone to coordinate," said Chance, who took the new position five years ago. "My job is to help."

One of Chance's favorite events is Taste of St. Louis, which runs Friday though Sept. 25. She loves the food, the music, but most of all, she appreciates the organizers' efforts to go green. The event serves compostable food and drink products and uses solar power and biofuel.

"It's the bench mark event," Chance said. "We can't require organizers to recycle, but we're really pushing for sustainability at city events."

Big events like Taste of St. Louis can require up to 12 permits costing $3,000 to $5,000. If you want to sell booze, serve food, close a street, sell birdhouses, you need a permit. It costs $100 a day to close a city block, $20 to use propane, $24 to erect a big tent.

"Sometimes, people think we're picking on them, but it's really for the safety and to protect an event," Chance said. "Take for instance a closed tent. You need an occupancy permit because it really is a building. Inspectors are looking at your lighting, and how secure it is. "

Chance made the leap from school picnic to blowout bash with Soulard Mardi Gras. During her nine years as volunteer organizer in the 1990s, she transformed the event from neighborhood party to a multiweek celebration that drew hundreds of thousands of revelers to the region. Chance lives in Soulard and still loves Mardi Gras.

"But there is so much more going on than when I first moved here — movies in the parks, the concerts, the runs. Every neighborhood has something going on," she said. "We want to support that. All of those things bring a vibrancy and life that's good for the city."

— By Diane Toroian Keaggy

Follow this link to read the entire article.

Department of Public Safety

City of St. Louis