Junction Arts Fest - Sept 3-7, 2008

We walked up to Dundas West today to check out the Junction Arts Fest. We hit the Bosnia Restaurant, Bosna Burek and Cevap, on our way. Potato Burek (potato pie) is my favourite thing to eat there but they don't always make it so we call ahead - the owner makes it on request. I was glad we took the long way because I usually shortcut down St. John's to get to the Junction. I finally found Reba's! I would have continued to miss it if I'd stuck to the shortcut. Apparently Reba makes the best (and best priced) latte in the neighbourhood.

Festivals always make me happy. Stores open their doors and you get to peek inside the shops you normally wouldn't, it's fun - "these are the people in your neighbourhood" kind of fun. This year's festival was even better than last year. I was happy to not be able to freely walk down the street like I could last year because it's a sign the festival is getting busier. It's nice to see the festival enjoying success. It was also nice not being in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Last year it was stinking hot and all the food smells were turning me off so we had to bail early. This year, we packed the baby in the Bjorn, strolled along looking at art, met up with some friends, and checked out the performances. 

This festival is cool because it's off the wall. There was a poetry peep show where viewers were peeking in on a poet reading their work, art installations on the street, and impromptu dance and acting happenings. One of my favourite things was the dance exhibit from HiP KiK, a local belly dancing school, they had various classes demonstrating their skills. The students we saw were all beginners, mostly moms in their 30s/40s wearing jingly bells on their hips and ankles. It was obvious they weren't really comfortable with their skills, concentration was clearly written on their faces but I thought it was really courageous of them to get up there and perform in front of all those people. Performing is easy when it's easy. It was really nice to see them put aside their reservations/fear, which I'm sure they had, to get up on stage.

The only annoying thing about the day was all the smoking. There were people smoking everywhere. It would be nice to see the organizers promote it as smoke free next year especially since the Junction is growing into a 'green' community. It could be a little clean air initiative. The green slant is evident everywhere: organic chocolate shop, organic shopping market (competitively priced), organic coffee shops, organic burger joint, green realtors, and reclamation stores. It's an authentically niche neighbourhood. 

What was your favourite festival this summer?