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I had a wonderful afternoon on Sunday in Fort Lauderdale. The Las Olas Art Fair was in full swing and the street was packed. Parking was a small challenge but I found a free space at a secret location I know about near downtown. And no, sorry, I won’t tell you where it is. I walked up from the water a few blocks (ok, that’s a hint about the parking spot) to Stork’s, where I met a couple of good friends for lunch. Despite the crowds, we got a nice table by the canal and sat and ate and talked for about two hours. It was a sunny afternoon. Hot, but with an enjoyable breeze that made sitting outside delightful.
From there, we joined another friend on Las Olas and wandered past the artist booths on our way to O’Hara’s for some afternoon music. A good quintet was performing, with a harmonica player who could belt out both blues and jazz. I hung with my friends at the club for a while, then eventually drifted onto the street to browse through the exhibits at the art fair. The event stretched for several blocks, with everything from metal sculptures to jewelry, oil paintings to photography. It was fun to see the variety of materials and styles and just to be around lots of people who do something creative for a living.
Somewhere along the slow, lingering walk back to my car, which was parked near a grassy area (and that’s my final parking hint), I began thinking about the art festival. And all the other festivals planned for the coming months in and around Fort Lauderdale. This past weekend really was the unofficial kickoff of the festival season around here. Across town, the Broward Caribbean Carnival drew something like 20,000 partiers on Sunday afternoon. From now until spring, you can pretty much find some kind of celebration or fair or fiesta every weekend. Most of these are free and everyone is invited. But they’re also very popular. So be prepared to pay a few bucks for parking and to wait patiently in a line of cars. Of course, you can always try to find a secret parking space of your own. But face it – these things don’t come along every day. And I’m afraid I’ve said all I plan to say about my spot.
From there, we joined another friend on Las Olas and wandered past the artist booths on our way to O’Hara’s for some afternoon music. A good quintet was performing, with a harmonica player who could belt out both blues and jazz. I hung with my friends at the club for a while, then eventually drifted onto the street to browse through the exhibits at the art fair. The event stretched for several blocks, with everything from metal sculptures to jewelry, oil paintings to photography. It was fun to see the variety of materials and styles and just to be around lots of people who do something creative for a living.
Somewhere along the slow, lingering walk back to my car, which was parked near a grassy area (and that’s my final parking hint), I began thinking about the art festival. And all the other festivals planned for the coming months in and around Fort Lauderdale. This past weekend really was the unofficial kickoff of the festival season around here. Across town, the Broward Caribbean Carnival drew something like 20,000 partiers on Sunday afternoon. From now until spring, you can pretty much find some kind of celebration or fair or fiesta every weekend. Most of these are free and everyone is invited. But they’re also very popular. So be prepared to pay a few bucks for parking and to wait patiently in a line of cars. Of course, you can always try to find a secret parking space of your own. But face it – these things don’t come along every day. And I’m afraid I’ve said all I plan to say about my spot.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 4:54 PM
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