Salisbury Festival Saturday in pictures and text

I didn’t get to the festival as early as I would have liked, but I found plenty to write and take pictures about (as did my significant other, who took the above photo and several others I’m using here.)

Once we arrived, there was a pretty decent crowd milling around where the riverside stage was.

Some were sitting by the river watching the action on the other side while enjoying a late lunch.

In fact, the food court was pretty busy when we arrived about 2:00.

But I had hustled downtown because I wanted to check out the classic cars before they split the scene. This 1964 Chevy Nova, owned by Anthony and Jeannette Smith of Delmar, was my personal favorite.

Certainly it’s aged better than I have, since we share the same vintage.

Wandering along Main Street, we saw that many familiar groups had tents, with this one being perhaps the most overtly political in a non-election year.

And if that wasn’t right-wing enough for you, even the militia was there.

Oh wait, I doubt that’s the militia you were thinking of. Certainly the guy behind the table doesn’t look all that conservative.

A key theme of the event was recycling, with this large recycling bin prominent along North Division Street.

I’m not sure just what kind of sign it was, but this is where I ran into newly elected City Councilwoman Laura Mitchell. Take from that what you will, but I have an observation: wouldn’t a truly aware artist have integrated the street’s left turn arrow into the chalk display? It would have saved some chalk! Not that there wasn’t a lot of it used along the street, like this detail.

This was placed underneath the Arts on the Plaza sign. Even as that aspect of the festival was winding down about 4 p.m. there was still a significant crowd in the Plaza.

It was a little more relaxed on the west side of the Plaza, as some just took the opportunity for a pleasant stroll.

Turning the other direction, there were a few who ventured to the end of the Plaza for exhibits.

And it wasn’t all visual art, as performances were scheduled all day – like the Footsteps Dance Academy featured in this photo by Kim Corkran.

A local church had street performers in front of their tent, as well as a bubble machine to attact attention (photos by Kim Corkran.)

Another growing influence for the Salisbury Festival is the craft beer industry.

They sponsored a Friday brunch and Saturday evening’s craft beer tasting which went on at the riverside stage.

Meanwhile, this family came by, oblivious to the beer drinking. (Photo by Kim Corkran.)

As one can imagine at this event, local bloggers were coming out of the bushes to cover it.

Those in the know will appreciate how that picture and the next picture go together – it’s from one of the newest Plaza merchants who had his store open for business yesterday.

But the Festival didn’t end yesterday evening.

Those who like the carnival midway can still get their fix this afternoon as the rides will be running from 1 to 5 before we all pack up and prepare for another week in Salisbury. Downtown will return to its staid, businesslike self – at least until the next Third Friday.

But if you weren’t downtown yesterday, you missed a good time with some very nice weather once the sun popped out mid-afternoon. Even Mayor Jim Ireton needed a constant presence there.

In case you’re wondering, there were musical acts down there too, but I’m saving that for a future post. Look for that over the next week.