ART!

Last year I went to the Utah Arts Festival with my dear friend Erin Cotten. We became instant fans and decided that we must attend every year. So, last Saturday, armed with sunscreen, sodas, and an insatiable thirst for art, we descended upon Library Square.

It was approximately 168 degrees at the festival. We wandered endless booths of paintings, drawings, photography, graffiti-art, mixed-media, collage, oragami and more. The Arts Festival is always a strange mix of awe and inspiration for me. A part of me wishes I had the talent that these artists have and another part of me starts itching to create. Maybe I could have the talent these artists have?

We watched 30 little kids play Turkey in the Straw on their pint-sized violins and we saw Flamenco dancers who danced with the fury of a thousand suns. (Speaking of the sun; the only relief that we had from the heat was wading through the library fountain in our flip-flops surrounded by timid children dipping their toes in the water and banshee children climbing the wet cement walls unattended. It was actually one of my favorite parts of the day.) We watched our beloved Poetry Slam and finished up the night watching Samba Fogo, a capoiera/Brazilian fire dance team that was PHEONMENAL.

The only downside to the Samba Fogo performance was the drunk guy next to me who was furious that people were sitting on the stairs and standing in the aisles at a free public outdoor event. Even though it made it very awkward to be standing next to him, it would have been more awkward if I was his girlfriend. Note to self: Don't go out with guys who get drunk at family friendly events and complain very loudly that there are too many people and he can't get to the f*@$ing bathroom.

Overall the event was fabulous. We saw great art, got some good sun AND we got to see our least favorite poet in the entire world get thrown off the stage for inappropriate content. YES! It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.