Happy Fourth Of July!

Today is the Fourth of July, and here in Denver that day is synonymous with the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, which takes place every Fourth of July weekend and is Denver's most prestigious art fair.  I walked around the festival for a few hours yesterday afternoon.  There was a short, light rain shower, which was good, since it reduced the huge crowd that you usually have to fight through to see the art.  I overheard one woman talking about the year it rained so hard a lot of artists were washed down  the street.  I was there that day, and the streets were like fast running streams.  I remember a lot of debris being washed away by the current, but no artists being swept away.  The sight of that must have been horrific.

This is a very prestigious show, and it is an honor to be selected to display your work.  It goes without saying that the art here is 1000% better than what you see at the monthly Santa Fe Drive Art Walk, but on the other hand, the prices are 1000% higher.  The painting on the right is one of a pair that would look perfect over my living room couch, but I simply can't afford to buy them.  I am seriously thinking of just having the photograph enlarged to sofa size and hanging that there, instead.  No wonder so many booths have signs forbidding photography.

The best thing about the Cherry Creek Arts Festival is the people watching.  The Cherry Creek neighborhood is arguably one of Denver's most prestigious, and therefore you get to see a lot of interesting sights. Dogs are welcome at the fair, too, and for the most part, that is good.  People are always stopping to complement people on their pets, and most of them are pretty well behaved.  However, the dog in the photograph on the left, being pushed in a baby stroller no less, was barking at every single person that went by, which means of course it was barking continuously.  And the owner didn't seem to care less.  And of course it was a poodle.  I say next year dogs in baby carriages should be banned.  Poodles too, for that matter.  Something must be done.

And of course we must not forget that Denver has been plagued for years now by zombies.  Every October they even have a special day when they get to parade around the 16th Street Mall and run amok.  I attended the event last year and was shocked at how many of these damn creatures there are here in Denver.  Of course, they don't go away after their special day, and can be seen around town the rest of the year, too - even at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival.  I took the photo on the right of one of them walking down the street looking zombie-ish.  You can't keep them out, after all.  That is why we are celebrating the Fourth of July in the first place.  Happy 4th Everybody!