Emily Denaro
Hippie wagons, clown cars, bicycle gangs and pirate hordes hitched swarmed several blocks of Williamson Street on Sunday morning as expected.
The 30th annual Willy Street Fair started with the regular loony and loopy parade of neighborhood denizens, swathed in a sea of bubbles floating from the heart of the gathering. The whimsy continued thereafter.
Amidst the bubble machines on top of and next to Star Photo, children frolicked in costumes and painted faces, playing and bouncing in an inflatable castle. Their squeals of glee were accompanied by hand drumming, and a cacophony of sound from the Kids' and Rock stages planted in the midst of the festival. The former brought Denise Jackson's singing and the percussion of the Handphibians, while the latter rollicked with tunes by Honor Among Thieves, Blueheels, and Little Blue Crunchy Things.
The intermittent wind carried the scent of pizza, roasted pork, smoothies, and other delicacies, while the booths and tents lining the street were replete with snarky, political t-shirts, harlequin accessories, jewelry, along with political and civic causes galore.
The wares were eclectic and the pitches earnest, but the most colorful and vibrant element of the fair was, as usual, the people.
A photo gallery from today's festivities is available at right.
