Arts on Foot

Yesterday afternoon I braved the clouds and cooler temperatures (ok, the cooler temperatures didn't really require braving - that I embraced.  The clouds, though, did look a little bit menacing...) to check out the Arts on Foot festivities going on in my neighborhood.  In its seventeenth year and billed as Washington D.C.'s "premier outdoor arts festival," I figured it was worth walking the two blocks over to check the art market, restaurant samplings, and varied musical performances.

I was pretty impressed with the set-up - plenty of people offering directions and guidance, a well-marked information booth, lots of seating, sufficient trashcans, and a semi-logical traffic pattern for winding your way through all the different booths.  The weather didn't seem to deter many people - check out the crowd captivated by remarkably flexible dancing/gymnastic type people from local dance ensembles...as well as some older ladies shaking it with hula-hoops that maybe shouldn't have been shaking it:

My personal highlights?

• Made a lunch out of king crab risotto from 701 and chips with spicy guacamole from Rosa Mexicano.  I realize they don't logically go together, but I was tempted by the risotto first and then encountered the chips...and seeing as how I'd spent a chunk of the morning reading a somewhat fascinating tortilla chip article in Texas Monthly, I had chips on the brain and HAD to have them.  Tasty on all counts.
• Signed up for my library card.  Seeing as how the main branch is a mere three blocks from my apartment, I figured I might as well.  With no Half Price Books anywhere in sight, maybe this can be my back-up cost-effective book plan.
• Caught a few moments of D.C. Shorts Film Festival offerings.  It's going on for the rest of the week, so I might go check out an actual screening one night.  With my highly limited attention span these days, short films are probably the way to go.

There were all kinds of art/jewelry/crafty things tempting me, but I resisted purchasing and just admired.  I also passed on the wine tent, which had a line snaking down the block and was quite obviously the place to be.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to some wine in the afternoon - I just didn't want to fight the crowd and/or shell out the bucks.

On my way out later in the day I also passed some stragglers who opted for more of an "Activism on Foot" rather than "Arts on Foot" approach to the day.  In case you missed the headlines, there were about a gazillion people down on the national mall on Saturday forming a rather large march/rally/protest, the general purpose of which was to beat down the Pres and Congress for everything from bailouts to health care to taxes.  They made an impression on me because they refused to obey traffic signals and caused me to sit at a red then green then red then green then red then OH-you're-finally-out-of-the-crosswalk light.  I'm all for freedom of speech, but I promise your message isn't diminished if you have small gaps in the crowd caused by law-abiding actions.