Fairfax CA: A Trader Joe's type of town

Photo: Fairfax Parade by Martin Bishop (Flickr)

Does anyone know a way, there's got to be be a way to make this news Brand Mix-blog-worthy--Men's Journal has chosen Fairfax (CA), my home town, as one of its 2010 Best Places to Live. (Let's just ignore the fact that the list, no offense to its citizens, also includes Houston.)

I already wrote about Fairfax once before, talking about how its tagline "Only in Fairfax" captures its spirit and state-of-mind. So what's the angle now?

OK. How about this? The Men's Journal article mentions that one of the charms of Fairfax is that there are "No chain anythings here" which is true as long as you don't count Bank of America as a chain. There are no Blockbusters, that's for sure.

It has its own ice cream shop (Fairfax Scoop), its own natural foods store (Good Earth Natural Foods) and many local bars (like the Sleeping Lady). It's the Trader Joe's model for a town vs., say, a Safeway model. Rather than have the same brands as everyone else which would make it look and feel the same, it has its own unique set of brands which makes it look and feel different. That makes it a candidate for a best place to live and, hopefully, just-about-acceptably worthy of a post.

Only in Fairfax

It was the 32nd Annual Fairfax Festival this past weekend. The Festival kicked off with the "Only in Fairfax" parade. "Only in Fairfax" is the adopted shorthand for a town that prides itself on an independent, quirky spirit. Fairfax is sometimes known as Mayberry on Acid (as in this short film which won the audience prize at the 2007 Fairfax Film Festival) --a family town that celebrates the unconventional.

Like any effective shorthand, "Only in Fairfax" captures the heart of the town and serves as a filter for what is/is not Fairfax. Businesses in town have used the shorthand to inform their initiatives (like the Fairfax 5 theatre, the first (and only) solar-powered multiplex). Newcomers like me get directed to the right state of mind.

Here are five photos from the parade representing my best shot(s) at capturing the Fairfax spirit:

The vintage fire truck works its way up Bolinas Ave

Banjo, "A's" shirt, Big beard

Tie-dyed T-shirt, helmet-wearing mountain biker

The Marin Sanitary Services dance group

California, of course