Wonderful times at Tremont

Last weekend was Tremont Art and Culture Festival, located in Lincoln Park in the heart of Tremont.  For those not aware, Tremont is one of the oldest neighborhoods on Cleveland’s south side.  In the last 20 years it has risen from the ashes to be a shining star of redevelopment, economic boom and culture.  The festival consisted of 75 juried artists, a coalition of local resident artists, non profits, food vendors, music, street performers, and a children’s village.  Throught the event there were two live stages, and so much activity.

We arrived at 7:30 and just got our tent up when the clouds decided to burst and rain furiously for 45 minutes.  We were not sure it would stop at one point.  (Everyone took a deep sigh, remembering last year which was almost rained out).  Never fear, radar showed just one straight line of storms, and when it passed we showed clear skys.  I could quietly hear everyone under tents whisper – bring on the sunshine!

And while saturday never got to be a bright and sunny day, it was delightfully filled with visits from old friends and faithful customers.  We chatted with folks we have not seen in an age, and caught up on adventures we missed out on.  For a gray day the crowds were good, and there was a steady stream of people arriving and going, with exotic spices scented air coupled by hints of smokey barbeque.  The food vendors were in full tilt, serving everything from hot dogs to thai food, and crepes.

And we had some fun stories to share.  Sunday early afternoon a cute little 7-8 year old stopped into the tent with her parents.  She was quite talkative, and we really loved her extrovert personality – but toward the end of the conversation steve asked her “are you married?”  Little kids always react so funny to these questions…. but she did not.  Matter of factly she said, “Oh yes, i have been married to Joey for 2 years and we have a little girl.  She is sleeping in the stroller. ” i thought Steve would have a heart attack – so he gulped and asked – oh really? How do you like married life”.  At that point her mom stepped in, motioning NO and said Joey is invisible, and so is the baby.  In fact we dont even have a stroller.  She likes to make stories up.   Well then!  (i think we were relieved to know that a 7 year old does not have a baby, but she was clearly persuasive. lol)

We really loved our time, and appreciated our artist neighbors.  Festivals like this take so much coordination, support and volunteerss.  And there were the faithful faces that are always there…. helping and spending long amounts of time in the festivities – booth sitting, collecting trash, crowd control, information, security, and every other hat you could imagine wearing.  We tip ours to Scott Rosenstein and his crew for another amazing year.   Thank you.