“What do you people want?” asked a street performer as a crowd dispelled from his juggling display. “I’m going to juggle some machetes, probably hurt myself.”

Hearing this, the people halted their departure and spilled into a circle around the man, obstructing the flow of pedestrian traffic, munching elephant ears and attempting to evade sunburns as they awaited his next trick.

Such was the atmosphere at this weekend’s 40th annual University District StreetFair, a flurry of music, art, food and history.

“Our goal this year was to be celebratory of our history,” said Teresa Lord Hugel, executive director of the Greater University Chamber of Commerce, who planned the event. “We have a whole big history area, I think that’s really neat.”

A stall detailing the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE), which was held on the UW campus a century ago this year, captured history buffs and inquisitive fairgoers alike.

“Everything you see on the UW campus today sort of emerges from the legacies of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition,” said Michael Herschensohn, program manager for the centennial celebration of the AYPE. “It’s very interesting how people really love to distance themselves from history, so it’s usually a hard sell. But coming out in the community and having things that they recognize, there seems to be a real interest in the subject.”

In this vein, people were also invited to don fashions from a favorite decade.

Laura Fahey, a U-District resident, channeled the ’90s with a white tank top and flared jeans, completing the look with a plaid flannel shirt slung around her waist.

“Oddly, I’m one of the people who’s dressed up,” Fahey said. “I don’t think other people can tell, and I just look like a weirdo in a flannel shirt.”

But Fahey’s mood was light as she and friend Alison Scott of Ballard indulged in arguably one of the fair’s biggest draws: the food.

“I come every year to stroll through and get a hot dog and lemonade,” said Oliver Trimble of Capitol Hill, boasting a near-empty plastic cup of lemonade. “I’ve achieved one of those goals so far.”

Tradition is important to Trimble, who has accomplished his goal at the StreetFair for the past three years. UW alumna Colleen Quinn also appreciated the fair cuisine in addition to the fair’s offbeat wares, including henna, jewelry, paintings and an unusual stall selling handmade fairy wings.

“It’s fun to check out the vendors and eat some good food,” Quinn said.

Vendors were pleased with the variety of fairgoers, who flooded the hundreds of booths in between purchasing falafel and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

“It feels like there’s a really diverse crowd here today,” said Rev. Marcella Simon, co-director of the Center of Light, which set up a booth at the fair. “We were grateful to be a part of [the fair]. I feel like people are really open and excited.”

The fair gave many U-District residents their first chance of the season to get outside and enjoy the weather.

“This was the first event of the season, so I think people were ready to get out of their houses and not think about swine flu and not think about the economy and just enjoy themselves,” Lord Hugel said. “Everyone seems to be having a good time, and that’s really what this is about.”

Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at news@dailyuw.com.