Down the street from Fresno City College, the first annual Fresno Nightcrawler fest was held by Sour Milk, a vibrant yellow store with pink lettering located on Van Ness Avenue. The event featured a multitude of art vendors, food trucks and neighboring businesses that celebrated the nightcrawler. 

According to Sour Milk’s website for the event, the Fresno Nightcrawler is a white “semi-human” creature with two eyes and long legs, resembling pants, usually spotted in pairs.

Notable sightings of the cryptid were reported in Fresno, Yosemite National Park and even Poland.

Ryan Urquidez, the owner of Sour Milk, said that events like Van Ness Village’s take on Art Hop, which is originally held downtown on Fulton street, have gotten increasingly popular.

“This is definitely the biggest one we’ve ever done, which is absolutely because of this Fresno Nightcrawler thing kind of having a moment. It’s like the first thing that Fresno’s like nationally known for, like in a positive light,” Urquidez said.

Sour Milk has a locker in the store filled with school supplies. Students are welcome to pick up stationery with the verification of a student ID.

The student supply locker next to two Monchhichi plush dolls by the checkout counter at Sourmilk on Oct. 1. (Photo by: Sara Cisneros)

“We always make sure that we offer student discounts,” Urquidez said. “I mean, it’s just good to have stuff like this so close to the school you know.”

Maximilian Van Dyk is a vendor who started vending for Alt Hop over the summer, an Art Hop alternative event adjacent to Sourmilk’s Nightcrawler fest. Van Dyk said the best part about vending at community events is the trading.

“I’m a firm believer that art should be easily accessible to the public. So doing events like Art Hop and Alt Hop with sour milk and access is really cool to me,” Van Dyk said. “It’s a way to make money for myself, but also a way to meet people in the community and make connections.”

Maximilian Van Dyk behind the Frankenstein booth, selling Frankenstein hand-made prints on Oct. 1 at the Nightcrawler Festival on Van Ness Avenue.
(Photo by: Miley Araujo)

Bee Grealy, the social media manager of Alt Hop said the unusual heat which reached a high of 97 degrees during the event’s start time at 5 p.m. was the hardest thing to deal with during the event. 

Apart from that and standard technical difficulties throughout the night, Grealy said that working with Sour Milk and other vendors was a seamless process. 

An outdoor short-film festival and open mic event held by Alt Hop at Nightcrawler fest on Oct. 1. (Photo by: Sara Cisneros)

An outdoor short-film festival and open mic event held by Alt Hop at Nightcrawler fest on Oct. 1. Photo by Sara Cisneros

“I know a lot of the artists here are students at FCC. I mean, coming down to support events like these is coming down to support not only your classmates but your neighbors and your community as a whole,” Greasly said.

Elliot Witt, an English major at FCC, said the event was an opportunity for his brother to sell his art at a booth for the first time. Witt came out to help set up and support the community.

A rare look at a not-so-crowded indoor experience at Sourmilk during Nightcrawler fest on Oct. 1.
(Photo by: Sara Cisneros)

Urquidez said Sourmilk’s take on an Art Hop night has always been a “less chaotic” alternative to downtown’s Art Hop.

“There’s not a lot of things to do in Fresno like this that doesn’t pertain to drinking or you know, costing a ton of money. So just to have a cool free event that showcases you know, local art, small business, it’s what we’re all about here,” Urquidez said.