Highlands Street Fair

I’m partial to this fair since my residence allows me to stumble to and from it. The music seems to be getting better and better – the west stage is usually the one I prefer – but I think their earlier date this year really helped with that, since they avoided the battle with the Westword Music Showcase they’ve had in the past.
Thankfully this year the misters were really catching on to help battle the heat. The biggest drawback is the abundance of strollers and heat-​exhausted middle-​aged couples that crawl along the middle of the narrow street at a snail’s pace. No, a snail would win. C’mon people, pay attention! It can get quite crowded around the vendors’ tents.
There are plenty of local businesses who bring their stores from the inside out onto the block, so it is a good way to get to know the new ones. I sampled some Fire on the Mountain fare and Highlands Pacific was selling theirs. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many pets were being adopted! So many happy puppies and kitties. I wish there were more handmade and vintage clothiers and less who simply order irresistible, unsustainable garb from China, but there were plenty of local vendors selling local, independent goods of other varieties.
Even if I didn’t live in the neighborhood I would love hanging out at this festival all day. Oh yeah, DON’T FORGET YOUR CASH.

This year was by far the most fun of the last four years I’ve attended this crazy busy little neighborhood street fair. Maybe it had something to do with parking ourselves outside Happy Cakes where we spent hours stuffing our faces with 2-​for-​1 cupcakes, $ 2 Dos Equis with limes and $ 1 jello shots in delicious flavors like margarita and piña colada. Maybe it was the multitude of friendly people sitting outside houses and house parties all around this fair, offering up drinks, beer bongs and other hilarious things that always surprise me when said people are well over 30 or even 40… or even 50. Kind of like college, but without annoying classes. I even managed to find a house with a bike pump after my cruiser blew its tube. Maybe it was the huge inflatable Modelo hats snagged somehow, probably illegally, by my friends that made for some prime picture taking. Maybe it was the food vendors taking low offers on their food (I had the wok seared vegetarian spicy noodles MMM!), including at the end of the night when some were just about giving plates of food away. Like delicious meat sticks for $ 1. Thanks for your generosity! Maybe it was the woman wearing her dog in a Baby Bjorn. I’ve always dreamed of seeing that.

What a nice way to spend a lazy summer afternoon. I was surprised at how big the fair is, it just kept going & going. 3 stages! My husband and I just wandered around checkin out all the vendors and the art and the music. The only thing we bought was a beer though! I defiantly noticed the stroller mafia was in full effect-​very family oriented.

I happily happened upon this year’s Highlands Street Fair, held annually on the third Saturday in June. 32^nd Ave was closed between Perry and Irving to accommodate 4 stages with live music on each, a huge inflatable slide for the kids, a classic car show, beer, margarita and food vendors, and all the quaint shopping you’d expect for the area: cool t-​shirts for the alternative/​indy pregnant woman, purses made of Brazilian magazines, art, jewelry, hippy clothing, etc etc. And, as you’d expect, SAFER (
) had a fairly strong presence.
I don’t often walk that area, and doing so made me see all the awesome local shops and restaurants that are there! It’s certainly worth checking it out next year! Good for all ages fun!
The Highlands rock!