BOULEVARD CLOSED FOR RECREATION; SHERMAN OAKS FESTIVAL PUTS COMMUNITY ON MAP.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

It's not that often you can glide down a giant yellow slide right smack in the middle of Ventura Boulevard, but that's exactly what Jon Goldstein and his family did Sunday.

The Goldsteins were among more than 50,000 people who jammed into a half-mile stretch of the boulevard between Kester Avenue and Van Nuys Boulevard for the 7th annual Sherman Oaks Street Fair & Carnival.

``We come every year, it's our third year here and we love it,'' said Goldstein, a Sherman Oaks resident, after zooming down the slide with his two children. ``They have great rides and we love to see our friends here and it's nice to be able to walk around.''

The street fair, considered the second-largest community event in the San Fernando Valley next to the Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo, featured live bands, an international food court, and dozens of arts and crafts booths.

At one booth, local teens took part in the latest street craze by getting removable hemp tattoos applied to their arms.

Friends Hanna Farzin and Heather Diamond of Sherman Oaks both took the plunge together, saying it was relatively cheap and harmless since the tattoos come off in three to four weeks.

``I've wanted a tattoo, but I want it right here,'' said 13-year-old Farzin, patting her hip. ``When I'm older I'll get it, there's no rush.''

The street fair and carnival, sponsored by the Sherman Oaks Chamber of Commerce, has more than doubled in size since its inception, when it took up just a quarter-mile area of Ventura Boulevard. Today it attracts visitors beyond the San Fernando Valley, said Carrie Konjoyan, immediate past president of the chamber of commerce.

While the three-day carnival began Friday, the street fair only lasted one day because it requires the closure of a part of the boulevard, Konjoyan said.

The event's proceeds go to all of the public elementary schools in Sherman Oaks.

Amid the festivities, five volunteers with the group Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, spent the day gathering signatures in support of a bill to eliminate the Los Angeles City Council's veto power over the Valley's right to vote on secession.

``People have been very receptive and much more aware of the issue than they were a year ago,'' said Valley VOTE co-chairman Jeff Brain, who had gathered close to 300 signatures by early afternoon.

For the past two weeks Valley VOTE has sent its petitions on a daily basis to Gov. Pete Wilson, who has until Sunday to decide whether he will sign the bill into law.

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3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Heather Diamond gets a temporary tattoo Sunday from Tom Scabuzzo at the Sherman Oaks Street Fair.

(2) Thousands of people roam a stretch of Ventura Boulevard blocked off Sunday for the Sherman Oaks Street Fair.

(3) Jon Goldstein, with his son, Jason, on his lap and his daughter, Camille, beside them, scoots down a big slide at the Sherman Oaks Street Fair.

Terri Thuente/Daily News