Say, is anybody going to art fair?

I took a scan through some of the “local-yokel” blogs this morning to see if I could find any “up close and personal” reports on this year’s Ann Arbor Art Fairs, but I didn’t find much of anything. Ann Arbor is Overrated has a little piece about the first annual Townie Party, though if you’ve ever read that blog, you can imagine their scoffs at the whole thing.

I played golf with Steve B. and Bill H-D. yesterday at the Forest Akers Golf Course at MSU— the “East Course,” which is the easier of the two. Nice course with lush lush grass and really difficult to hit out of rough. Before I left for home and while in front of Bill’s house, I told Bill and his wife that they ought to go check out the art fairs. One of them asked if we (meaning me and Annette and Will) were going, and I said something like “Nah, that’s for the tourists.”

Actually, we probably would go if we weren’t both pretty swamped in various work projects around here. Annette and I went the first couple of years that we were here, and Will is probably old enough to endure it now. It is an awful lot of people though, and it is so so huge that it ends up being a significant and all-day commitment. As an alternative, we have gone to the Plymouth “Art in the Park” celebration in recent years because it’s just a lot smaller and easier to manage.

But don’t let me stop you from going….

6 thoughts on “Say, is anybody going to art fair?”

  1. you know, this is the sort of attitude that Ann Arborites (or even uppity Ypsis) cultivate that we normal folk in Lansing make endless fun of:

    Tow assumptions are equally ridiculous here…

    1. that such an artsy-fartsy yuppie community is too good for its own art fair

    and

    2. that Ann Arbor is a tourist attraction! puh-leeeze. I mean, I’ve seen Applebee’s before

    oh, and one more:

    3. that being jaded and bitter towards visitors to your fair city is somehow cooler than just being, you know, friendly

    :)

  2. Hold the phone there, fancy-pantsy Okemos-type!

    First off, lots of Ann Arborites go the art fairs, believe you me. We’ve been a couple of times ourselves. It’s just that it is such a freakin’ zoo with the crowds and all, and it is pretty much the same thing every year. Not something that needs to be repeated every year. And besides, we’re all kind of busy around here, so maybe we’ll hit it next year.

    Second, Ann Arbor really is a “tourist town” about ten days out of the year: during Art Fair, which (the city folk claim) is attended by like 500,000 in four days, and during home football games, which turns the town in a whole different kinda zoo. I used to live in a *real* tourist town (Ashland, OR), and it is certainly better to visit a tourist town than to live in one.

    Third, we’ve got Chilli’s *and* Applebees. Actually, lots of good and groovy eatin’ places.

    And hey, I’m all about the friendly. Don’t confuse me with these AA is Overrated types. C’mon down and stay for a spell.

  3. Went into town yesterday. Suprise suprise… same junk as last year and every other year. Lots of crap on sticks for people’s front yards. My friends’ band was playing though, so that was cool.

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