Clarktoberfest?

The street I live on (Clark St.) is organizing an event this weekend. It's called... CLARKTOBERFEST!!!! What is it, you ask? I dunno... no seriously, I can't figure it out. I have no clue what exactly will be going on at Clarktoberfest. As far as I can tell, these are the nifty things I have to look forward to that Clark Street is celebrating:

Increased sidewalk area
Snowplowing services on said sidewalks
A clean-up crew has been hired to pick up garbage and debris on Clark Street every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday (does this include the homeless? just askin'...)
Decorations were provided on the street poles for the holidays (oooooo faaaancy!)
Power washing of the sidewalks

So I know what we're supposed to be excited about, but still, wtf is Clarktoberfest?? Maybe the poster will provide clues...

Hmm.... sot here wil be joggers and dogs eh? Interesting...

From the website: "Clarktoberfest will kick off on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. on the patio at Ranalli’s on Clark (2301 N. Clark) with an unveiling ceremony, during which the Clark Street SSA will officially make public the new Clark by the Park logo. The Clarktoberfest festivities also include sidewalk sales, live music, food samples and other giveaways, such as Clark by the Park-branded tee-shirts and dog treats, walking maps, and coupons."

Ooooo! Logos. Snazzy. I hope they're giving away commemoral Clark St. t-shirts. (OMG I was totally joking about the t-shirts, and I just re-read that section and saw them... wow. Clark St. REPRESENT!) And I am all about food samples. Not too crazy bout dog treats though.

Continued: "Clarktoberfest also marks the beginning of a marketing campaign aimed at reducing storefront vacancies and alerting Chicago residents to the variety of shopping and dining opportunities available on Clark Street."

I have to say there is a crazy amount of storefront vacancies on the street. Quizno's didn't even survive! (To its credit, there's another Quizno's four blocks away on Lincoln, so it might not have been the best idea to put a new one there, but whatever.) Just recently, I saw some of my favorite crazy cheap jewelry stores are going out of business. Who knew that closing at 3 during the week would do that? On a more serious note, I found out this morning that Tower Records is liquidizing its stores. There's a Tower Records that occupies the entire second floor of my building. I consider them to be my favorite neighbor. They don't ever make any noise at night and they didn't complain when my toilet overflowed (I thought the water had gone down when I flushed it again, it was an OPTICAL ILLUSION I TELL YOU).

Then there are the stores I think should be out of business. Like my cleaners that used to be next day... and has mysteriously stretched to an unbelievable four days! Or the five or six sushi stores on the same two blocks. I am loyal to my Sushi Para Too and their $16.99 all you can eat special. There are two Indian cuisine restaurants with a Mexican place inbetween them. The wine bar??? I have no idea if anybody ever goes there because the windows are tinted. Finally, the one I really don't get, Rose's Perks. This place recently opened up very close to my home and I can't, for the life of me figure out what it is. There's a picture of coffee, but there is no coffee sold there. The inside is painted a deep purple and a neon green, but there's two seating chairs and a coffee table that look like something out of grandma's house. So what's in there, you ask? A collection of crap that looks like someone pulled it out of their attic and decided to try and sell it. She should rename her shop Garage Sale.

To Clark St.'s credit there really is no reason why these stores should be going out of business. It's a busy street and it's in a great location. And here I'm referring to the stretch of Clark from Armitage to Diversey. There's a high school right there, and DuPaul is directly west, with the Fullerton beach access directly east. Lincoln Park Zoo is blocks away! Maybe the problem is the rent? This is possible seeing as the majority of places that I do see vacant are managed by the same company. They have loads of great places that would make me cry if they went out of business (my staples in order of importance):

1. Sushi Para Too... do NOT take away my sushi, I will die and God knows Brandon will never come to visit me again.
2. The Golden Cup, I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeed their pancakes at 2p.m. on Sundays
3. Ranalli's, pizza until 5a.m.!
4. Walgreen's, it's just essential
5. Hema's Kitchen, gotta get me some curry
6. Galway Arms, I really don't go here to get some ecclectic Irish food as much as I should
7. Express, it's practically in my basement. I get to know about their sales before anyone else.
8. Dunlay's, goat cheese pizza and spinach artichoke dip are awesome
9. Weiner Circle, this is many people's favorite, mostly I just like to laugh whenever I see the sign and a line out the door at 12a.m. on Fridays.
10. PAWS, I just like seeing the kitties! mew mew mew

Anybody have any other favorite Clark St. stores/restaurants?