Sunday, October 04, 2015

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - October 3, 2015

Good morning! Welcome to my weekly off television topic reflection of the week gone by in both words and photographs I've taken along the way. I'll be posting about television soon. I promise!

This week started out very nicely ... and then went downhill.

On Sunday, I went to neighboring Westfield for my first visit to their 26th Annual FestFall street(s) fair. Wow. They know how to put on a street fair! Most of their downtown business section, made up of several streets, was involved. There were foods of every kind imaginable, crafts booths, bakery booths, even a Polska Kielbasa booth! At least two streets were dedicated to children with rides, activities and booths with stuff kids enjoy. Local businesses had sales. There was an artist who does drawings and paintings of your home. His work was truly detailed. There were civic groups and a local ski club I knew nothing about. I haven't skied since moving to New Jersey after being a ski addict for years.

There was something for everyone there -- something I feel lacking in Plainfield street fairs. Almost everything street fair I've attended in the downtown area has seemed focused on either hip hop or Hispanic and definitely geared more towards the young crowd. Sure, I have missed some street fairs because I work on Saturdays. The FestiFall is on Sundays, a day off (usually) for me. But we don't have anything this huge with something for everyone to enjoy all in one fair, either.

On Monday I got good news at work. So, the start of the week went well.

Then came the downhill -- bad weather, constant rain and a virus going around my workplace caught me. Gah. I'm still under the weather, both figuratively and literally. Okay, my roof is under the weather more so than I am. However, it's still grey, cloudy, rainy and windy here. Due to the bad weather and the fact that I haven't felt well, my photos this week ended up being mostly the Westfield FestiFall. Oh, well.

Clicking on an image will bring it up in a larger version.

Proving once again ...

... that flowers DO bend with the rainfall.

It made me want to be 10 again

They didn't have stuff like this when I was ten years old! One side has a rock-climbing wall, but it's the bungee/trampoline side that's so cool! The kids sit in harnesses and bounce off the trampolines high up in the air. They can do all kinds of acrobatic feats. I wanted to do it. I refrained.

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AC/DC and the NJ Workshop for the Arts

Mingling in the crowd

There are aliens among us! I saw this dude setting himself up with a new balloon face. He's just a teenager roaming around like that (to the delight of children). He didn't seem to have affiliation with any of the booths.

"The Backbeat"

I really enjoyed this three-man band. I found them on their Facebook page after much searching. They played music I love hearing -- old Beatles, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, The Doors and more. For a three man band, they were really pretty amazing. But they really have to change their name. Searching for them, the first thing that comes up is a pretty popular Beatles tribute band.

Food

More food

Even more food

Food? Yep.

Still food

Tiny Trendsetters

I'm a huge fan of Brandon Stanton and his Humans of New York photography. He often posts photos of young kids with a "Today in Micro-Fashion" caption. When I saw these two, I thought of his work. He would have gotten a kick out of them.

Ohh ... a minion hat!

I have a friend who would love one of these! And, she's not a kid, either.

I like their approach

All of my photos, even the edited ones, are Photoshop-free. I've never spent several hundred dollars for a computer program. I use free stuff like GIMP and photocat.com.

Good salesman

This boy scout inspired me to buy the giant box of microwave popcorn he's holding. It's good stuff. While I hadn't planned on spending that much on popcorn, it averages out to about $1 per bag; each bag making a big bowlful. And, it is indeed tasty.

My favorite food booth

I didn't have the alligator sandwich, though.

Edited FestiFall street scene

Vincent caught licking his nose

He's a silly cat!

5 comments:

Palmaltas said...

Hope you are feeling better, Jackie. The crab cakes would be my choice although I've eaten alligator and probably would have eaten that sandwich also.

Jackie S. said...

Thank you, Pat. Better to eat alligator than to be eaten by an alligator! I was tempted to try it but I already had a bunch of food I had bought to take home with me.

Sharon N said...

How much do you bet... 'gator tastes just like chicken!! LOL

re: the Kid's area. I'd love to be able to 'go back in time' and do those things again too, but age/back issues moved my get-up-n-go to got-up-n-went a few years ago.

Get well soon!!

Anonymous said...

Both my sons were in boy scouts, spent many an hour on the sales trail, so I wanted to say thanks for helping that troop.
PS - the microwave popcorn really is the best bang for your buck...and very tasty.

rschnoop said...

Jealous of the street festival... nothing that good here...
Also, Vincent says that you don't give him access to tissues, so he has no choice...