Monday, June 23, 2014

Amity is a Summer Town

 . ..and so, summer has begun. 

Summer in Chicago for many, if not most residents equals being outdoors at one festival or another. The weekends are chock full of options from one end of the city to the other.It is a grand opportunity to visit a neighborhood that is not one's normal stomping ground, to sample foods that may be outside one's comfort zone. 

A random art fair aside, outdoor festivals are not typically my cup of tea. My sensibilities are turned off by three elements inherent in these fetes: 1. crowds 2. outdoor eating 3. too many people, wearing too few articles of clothing, imbibing too many fruity spectacles delivered in a culled out pineapples.

On the positive tip though, attending festivals is an excellent way to get in s-t-e-p-s.

While not your typical festival dweller I will,  depending on the weather, other commitments, and the neighborhood, check the calendar, pencil in the possible events, and try not to talk myself out of attending at least 3 over the next 3 months. 

Summer has just begun and I've already missed more than a dozen. Don't fret there are dozens more. 

The actor embraces the festivals and would attend more if he wasn't more often than not, working. He will, though almost always make time for the Printer's Row Lit Fest (I would have gone there had it not been the same weekend as the 57th Street Art Fair) and the Blues Festival.  


A Tribune photographer captured the actor at the blues festival last weekend. Check out the gallery. And yes, he pretty much dresses this way for everything, winter or summer, rain or shine. 

I do look forward to summer in Chicago, more for the opportunities to get out on my bicycle over attending festivals. But it is grand to know that weekend IN and weekend OUT there is something I could do, somewhere I could go--have a fruity spectacle delivered in a culled out pineapple--if I truly wanted to go that route. 

Roll on Summertime. ♥ ♥ ♥

11 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:46 AM

    I have to admit that I love outdoor festivals. I will go to as many as possible. I even am a fan of culled out pineapples, although I rarely get them as it seems like anything served in an empty shell (pineapple, coconut) somehow ends up being crazy expensive.

    I was thinking about artist's dates yesterday ... I should look and see what the festival situation is around here.

    Also, the actor is incredibly handsome. Wow.

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    1. Go forth and fest-i-val. Thank you.

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  2. Ok, the actor is a truly beautiful man. Just sayin. I love Summer, but we've had so much rain (monsoons, really) that I feel like it isn't really here yet.....

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    1. Thank you. It has been rainy here too. Drenched coming home Saturday evening and again this evening.

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  3. Wow, indeed. So handsome. And, cufflinks, even!

    I like the fact of outdoor festivals but like you, I don't often attend. And for most of the same reasons. Crowds, heat, ickiness.

    The Blues Fest is coming up over the July 4th weekend. It's a huge one on the Portland outdoor festival calendar. Too big for me. And too many people drinking too much. But, I'm glad they are all having fun!

    Enjoy your bike rides!

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    1. Thank You. Yes, cufflinks. He's very particular about his accessories :-)

      Still working to get a solid 3 days as week in, but every one is enjoyed to the fullest.

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  4. Summerin Chicago - must be as happy happy place.

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    1. It can be. It has been in summers past. :-)

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  5. I used to live in a small city that had two rivers. All the music festivals were conducted from a huge raft in the river and I could avoid the crowds by just paddling my kayak up close. It was a beautiful thing. Now I live in a suburban setting where I would have to drive to most activities, something I am loath to do. But you did paint a glorious picture and I can almost smell the street food and hear the sounds of jazz. I do hope you can find comfortable way to enjoy them.

    I love your son's wardrobe. Very 1920s Harlem. It makes me nostalgic for simpler days.

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    1. A few, I think I will.

      1920s Harlem is his mindful milieu.

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    2. This is a great post. I am looking for my happy in the summer too.

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