The 28th Annual Downtown Stuart Art And Craft Festival

Yesterday afternoon I attended the 28th Annual Downtown Stuart Art and Craft Festival on Osceola Street here in downtown Stuart, Florida. And I must say, I was impressed at how large the festival actually was. In addition to original artwork and crafts, there were also booths exhibiting photography, too. I took the photograph on the left of the Lady Abundance Fountain, located at the midpoint of the festival. This is the same fountain that my sister Susan climbed and posed for a photograph at with her arm around Lady Abundance herself. And she did not even get arrested. I have that photograph somewhere at my condo in Denver but keep forgetting to look for it until I see the actual statue down here in Stuart. Definitely a conundrum.

The festival takes place in the heart of downtown Stuart, which is a really great people space, with good restaurants, interesting shops, and even a stage along the St. Lucie River that hosts Rock'n Riverwalk, a concert series that takes place every Sunday afternoon, winter and summer. This was also the location of Dancing in the Streets, which used to take place every August and was extremely popular. It was the talk of the town during the summer ("I'm going, are you?"). Amazingly enough, it was discontinued a number of years ago, and I have no idea why. That and the 4th of July fireworks were the only events that took place here in the summer. It's nickname among locals was "Drinking in the Streets," and so perhaps that was the reason it was canceled. Spoilsports.

This festival was packed with people yesterday afternoon. I was afraid I would not find a parking spot, but amazingly enough, a car pulled out right where the festival began. Still another parking miracle. I have not been in Stuart during the month of March for years, since my sister Susan and I have been renting our condo out for the past 15 years before taking it back last June. March, of course, means baseball spring training, and I was planning to attend a game or two before I found out how expensive it can be ($42 per ticket for all but the bleacher seats (located in the next county) and $15 to park. That is more than I pay for a regular season Colorado Rockies baseball game at Coors Field. Meanwhile, the Downtown Stuart Art and Craft Festival is free. Ah ha! Perhaps that is why it is so crowded here.

There were a number of photography booths at the festival, most of them selling landscape photographs featuring scenes from South Florida. There were also several booths displaying photographs of marine life, taken with special cameras that can be used underwater. I myself have never taken photographs like that, believing there might be a good chance I might get wet while taking them. In any case, attending the art and craft festival here in Stuart was a lot of fun, and if you happen to be in the area, I recommend heading to Stuart and taking it in. It will be taking place again today from 10:00 until 5:00. Be there or be square, as we hipsters say.