Hawthorne Street Fair!

Dear Liza,

Street Fairs are back and not without a sense of Portland irony.

We have had two deadly heat waves this summer, so of course it rained on the day of the Hawthorne Street Fair.

Not wanting to find the place overcrowded in these Delta-variant times, we walked down early. In fact, some vendors weren’t even set up yet. But we wore our masks (as did a lot of folks) and got some books and yarn from Backstory Books’ sidewalk sale. We stepped into the Gold Leaf & Alter art gallery and got to see their offerings while visiting with jeweler Judy Goldblatt.

There were groups making music….

As the rain came (sometimes in buckets!) and went, we walked the street, talked with folks, and remembered the many reasons we love Portland.

A delicious “Ethiopian taco” (actually injera, a flatbread, served with a spicy chicken curry) from “Spice of Africa” was our lunch. We ate it under the shelter of an out of service bus stop during the heaviest of the rain.

Grandpa Nelson was the first customer of the day for Two Wahine’s Shave Ice. We signed political petitions and talked with folks about their dogs.

Even the Multnomah County Health Services got into the act, giving vaccinations right across the street from the Bread and Ink Cafe.

We were back home, changing out of wet socks, before the crowds kicked in.
It was a wonderful, perfectly Portland day.

Love,

Grandma Judy