WHO Are All These People?

So, today was the first weekend the Hubs and I haven't had any real plans, and we were really looking forward to doing what ever we felt like this weekend. We started today by hitting up the local farmer's market. I am usually the one that stops at the market during most weekends, but this time, the Hubs decided to join me. While we were there, there was this sect of religious people, I am not sure which denomination, that were literally EVERYWHERE in the market - and this was new to me too - never have I ever seen this group of people at the market. There were easily a hundred of them, no joke. All different shapes, sizes, colors, ages, etc. You could tell they were all together because they had the same outfit on - men wore black pants and a starched white shirt with black vest, and women wore their hair in buns, with long, floor-length skirts, and same crisp white shirt and black vests. Even the little kids and babies had on miniature versions of this ensemble! It was a little strange. I don't think it would have been that strange if they were just shopping around the market like the other patrons. It was almost as if they were loitering to hand out literature (which we politely declined on several occasions), and they were swarming around a few booths. One booth was the "Pencil Portraits". There was a nice man who, for $5, would sketch your likeness while you posed. About 20 of these individuals crowded around this poor guy while he was trying to draw just one kid! Talk about pressure.

We left the farmer's market to run some other errands after that. While we were leaving, we did see a sign for a street festival about two blocks away from the market. It was decided that we would finish with our other errands, and head to the street festival in the afternoon.

After circling the area for what seemed like hours, we finally found a place to park. (It was necessary to drive to the event - it's still in our immediate neighborhood, though) We arrived at the street festival (which is thrown by a local church to sponsor their church school and also a local homeless charity) - now, the festival is centered around the arts, so everything was very art-themed. There were countless booths with some incredible artwork, ranging from mixed media to watercolors, sculptures, drawings, pottery, I could go on and on. There was a LOT of neat stuff to look at. I am currently trying to "de-clutter" my life, and I figure buying artwork and knick-nacks with out having a proper "place" for them will just negate my de-cluttering. I was very tempted to buy a few things though.

The other thing we saw a whole lot of, other than art, was A BUNCH OF DIRTY HIPPIES. Seriously. Tons of them. Everywhere. With their dreadlocks and patchwork skirts and dirty children and smell (think, patchouli and stale pot). NOW UNDERSTAND - I am not trying to be mean, I normally dislike all people equally. BUT WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND - I live in this neighborhood. I frequent the locally-owned establishments in this area. I walk/run through these neighborhoods. I NEVER run into this many hippie-types on a regular day-to-day basis. Never out in the neighborhood, never in the local shops, never anywhere! I guess I just want to know WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM? There were also a TON of lesbians. Not that there is anything wrong with lesbians. (I would MUCH RATHER hang out with a lesbian than a dirty hippie.) And again, it's not that I don't like lesbians - it's just, in all my hanging around the neighborhood, I don't run into them. It's just DISPROPORTIONAL, people.

After the Hubs and I walked around for a bit, we decided we had our fill (plus, we were getting a bit tempted to buy), so we headed home. Oh, and I mentioned how the festival was all artsy too, right? Well, on the street leading into the festival, children were allowed to draw with sidewalk chalk on the street - all kinds of beautiful illustrations to welcome you into this wonderful festival. I will leave you with my personal favorite - I call it "Santa With Balls":