Take it to the Street

I had plans today to meet Christo on the Upper West Side for brunch and a traipse down to The Bowery to look at lighting fixtures. I was restless this morning so I left home early and arrived at the corner of 86th and Broadway 40 minutes before I was scheduled to meet my companion for the day. Coming up from the nether regions of the subway, I was surprised to see a street fair in full commotion dominating the west side of the street from 86th to 94th.

A street fair? That's a surprise. The weather is distinctly Autumnal. Street fairs are a summer hallmark. I expected that the sausage stands, the pashmina stalls, the creperies that populate every corner of this unwieldy island would be now packed away awaiting the advent of Memorial Day 2009. I wandered along the street admiring the cubicles packed with discounted Egyptian sheets, framed artwork and 12 packs of sport socks. I whiffed the sweet smell of corn and sausage sizzling on makeshift grills. I listened as the vendors hawked plastic cups of lemonade and greasy funnel cakes. I scoured the wares at a jewelery stand and asked the proprietor about the street fair schedule. Oh no, he reassured me, the last street fair of the season was scheduled for mid-November. Well, who knew?

I like street fairs. I'll probably never try many of the foodstuffs on display and rarely do I purchase any of the items I see (although I confess I nearly purchased a beige fox fur head muff today; alas, the vendor did not take credit cards and the price was a cool $140--regrettably, I did not have enough cash on me).I just like the ambiance a street fair suggests. I enjoyed carnivals when I was a kid and this is a natural extension.

I decided to take a few pictures, if anything to keep me going till next summer. You can find anything at a street fair--it's a glorious thing.