On Sunday, a non-stop parade of people streamed by like a television show from my brother's third floor apartment on Park Ave. He'd taken the window out and pulled up the couch so he and his roommates could people-watch from a comfy vantage point. My friend Aubrey and I had just walked over to take in the festival, but this was our first stop, to say hello and get a cool glass of water. The sun was hot even though dark clouds and a suspiciously cool breeze threatened rain. Aubrey smoked a cigarette. A girl with pink hair walked by. We decided to go join the colorful crowd of people, and hunt down some iced coffee.
Music and chatter filled the air. A band called Extended Family played next door in Hogan's lot, and as we headed east on Park, we came across Velveteen Fox, the Buddhahood, and another band I didn't catch the name of. We successfully tracked down iced coffee, and wandered past the arts and crafts vendors. Few things caught our eye, but some huge tubs of shea butter were noticeable from far away. "I ain't stickin' my hands in that," Aubrey said. She repeated it later when I pointed out another butter booth.
As always at these festivals, we ran into a bunch of people we knew, and said quick hellos while walking. It was nice to wander about with nowhere to be. A man walked by holding a sign advertising "Free Hugs." He was cute, but nobody seemed to be taking advantage. Maybe he needed a bigger sign.
We walked the rest of the fest, all the way to Culver, and turned back around, into the sun, before deciding to stop at Jines for much-needed food and drink (lamb and feta burger, Blue Moon; chicken salad sandwich, pinot grigio), and to relax for awhile.
After our lunch/dinner, it was past 5 p.m., and the crowd was diminishing. The mounted police rode by, encouraging people to stay as close to the curbs as possible. As the streets began to clear, the porch and lawn parties began to grow.
As we walked back towards our cars, some players from the roller derby skated around, touting their upcoming game. "Girls in short skirts!" they called out. One vendor, cleaning up his tent, replied that he'd seen enough of that for one weekend.