As summer is winding down, the activities are ramping up! Sunday was a busy, exhausting, happy, musical day. First our friends John, Jennifer, Amy and Phil came by for lunch. We got caught up on everyone’s news, adventures, children and grandchildren. It was wonderful.
After lunch, I asked our friends to sign my tablecloth. They did, with John (the tall handsome fellow on the left) giving me a real challenge. His self-portrait sure makes things interesting!
When all the shenanigans were done, our guests headed off and we packed some leftovers and went to Laurelhurst Park for some music.
The Providence Stage Band is a very talented group of doctors from our local hospital, and they were performing a concert. We love their Big Band and Jazz era music, and the vocals were classic. “Ain’t that a Kick in the Head?” and “Queen Bee”, “Too Darn Hot” and other songs from the 40s and 50s bounced among the Douglas Firs and picnickers.
As usual, though, the real joy was watching the people! Youngsters dancing by the stage made their own show and got just as much applause as the band.
Couples dancing under the trees had romance, music, and conversation.
There were Dads carrying infants while supervising young stick-collectors.
And of course, everyone brought their dogs!
The air got cooler as the sun went down behind the trees, and the band ended with “In the Mood”, my favorite Big Band piece of all time. We packed up the chairs and walked the three blocks back home, worn to very happy nubbins by the day.
As if our weekend wasn’t full enough with our new car, Sunday was the Hawthorne Street Fair. They close the street for 10 blocks and all sorts of folks set up tents to share their ideas and talents, and sell their things.
Auntie Bridgett spent the morning at a drawing “meet up” at the Portland Museum of Art, where artists look at art, draw about it, and talk about it. So Grandpa Nelson and I did the first part of the Fair by ourselves. First, we stopped at the Bazi Bierbrasserie because Grandpa Nelson had heard about their french fries and wanted to try them out. They and my “velgi” burger were very good, and the cider and beer were light and cold, just what was needed on a hot day. Outside the brasserie was a “Human Foosball” game, where four guys….well, you get the idea. Have a look at the picture.
Human Foosball
Out on the street, there were food booths selling Cajun, Hawaiian, Lebanese, Mexican, Filipino, and American food. Pork, beef, chicken, tofu, if it could be fried, spiced and wrapped in something, it was for sale. It all smelled so yummy! There were also Gelato carts, shave ice trucks, and tents just giving away free cold water to anyone who needed it. These were all very popular.
There were political action booths, asking people to sign petitions, buy t-shirts, or volunteer to save the planet, the country, the forests and just about anything else you can think of. These were interesting but a little dangerous, because if you asked the folks about their cause they were so passionate, it was hard to walk away!
Auntie Bridgett playing a cigar box guitar
Auntie Bridgett joined us as the day was getting really warm. There were booths selling music! Old vinyl records by the box load called to us, but since we gave away our old turntable when we moved, we didn’t stop. A fellow named Sonny was selling guitars and ukeleles that he built from beautiful cigar boxes, and Auntie Bridgett gave them a try.
Musicians of every age were sitting, standing, or dancing, and playing music with their boxes set out for donations. The youngest were about 13, two girls playing ukeleles behind a sign that said “Tip the musicians (but don’t knock them over)”.
Young musicians
Auntie Bridgett hadn’t had lunch and we were all ready to fall over from the heat (we are not used to 98 degrees!) so we stopped in at the lovely and air conditioned Chez Machin. This french style creperie is friendly, small, and serves both savory and sweet crepes and drinks. The sit-down, cool air, and food were exactly what was needed.
After looking at hats from Ray’s Classic Collection shop and some vintage clothing, we decided it was time to head home. We all had some downtime, read, or napped. In the evening was the final performance of the summer “Music in the Parks” program, so we walked to Laurelhurst Park with our dinner and listened to the Providence band play jazz, big band music, and even some disco. People danced, kids played, and the sun went down. It was lovely.
Back to School Flamingos
On the way home, we saw that the flamingos had changed again! They were apparently home from their camping trip and were ready to go back to school! This running story played out on a lawn just cracks me up, and it is so ….Portland.
Dear Liza 