What: Wicker Park Street FestWhere: Wicker Park
How much: $5
How to get there: Bike :)
The first time I attended the Wicker Park Street Fest, it was 2002. I waited for four hours to be in the front row to see Phantom Planet. During their set, I hyperventilated, and smacked some little girl in the face with my wildly swinging ponytail. The lead guitarist cut his finger on his guitar string, bled on his pick, and threw it to me. My dad drilled a hole in it and I wore it around my neck for at least a year. Anytime you need to clone Alex from Phantom Planet, let me know.
This time, the atmosphere was very different. Wicker Park has grown up in the last eight years. This was apparent from the moment we entered the fest- young people were packed into the three blocks like sardines. I have never seen so many tattoos in my life. At one point I was standing next to an older couple and the man said, "I bet there is not a single woman here without a tattoo" and his wife replied, "Well, I'm here, remember?".
The bodies were packed slightly less densely around the food vendors, and Bart and I shared a Thai chicken wrap from Feast. Feast is a restaurant on Damen just north of the 6-way intersection at Damen, North, and Milwaukee. I've never been there to sit down but the wrap was delicious.
Speaking of delicious food (tangent alert), we tried Greek/Turkish restaurant Taxim on Milwaukee on Friday night. The food was delicious, our waiter was nice, and while we were eating al fresco, the Chicago Critical Mass rode by (some of them just in their skivvies). Excellent dinner entertainment. The hostess had to come out and yell, "Waiters, you have tables!".
Back to the street fest. The music was excellent, which is what I assume brought out such masses of twenty-somethings. Two stages of bands and one DJ stage kept everyone sufficiently entertained. The beer was relatively affordable, and there were some people walking around selling beer for cheap. If you want to bring your own beer to a streetfest, just tell the people working the gate that you live on that street (sometimes they ask for an address, so have one ready). This not only gets you into the festival for free, but you can bring your own drinks, because who are they to stop you from bringing your own beer home?
I saw two things at the Wicker Park Fest that I haven't seen elsewhere yet this summer; minigolf (see top picture) and the Lutheran Church. The latter had a booth set up for making bracelets and learning about the almighty. At the same time. There were also many booths that had been taken down by the time we made it there that clearly had been for children to make crafts. Unfortunately, I also saw a lot of families with small children. We're talking recently born, have no business at a loud drunken street fair children. Sigh.
All in all, certainly the most packed fair I've seen yet this summer, and also one of the more enjoyable. Nothing to say about the vendors except there were a few more bike-related ones than normal. Speaking of bikes, we recently moved to this neighborhood and I can ride my bike everywhere! I just can't carry it down the stairs, because it weighs about a hundred pounds. Time for a new bike.
In other news, today is Ollie's birthday. He is 5! What an old man. Happy bday, Obear. (you know, just in case he reads the blog)....
Ok! Check the metromix site for a list of next week's fests. I will be at Market Days on Friday night and Retro on Roscoe Saturday afternoon. Who's coming with me?
