Midtown Weekends are the Best!!

So, it was definitely a great weekend to be a Midtowner! Saturday was the Annual Cooper Young Festival, which we have been wanting to check out for a few years now, but it always seemed to be too much of a hassle to schlepp all the way out there from the burbs.  Since we are now official Midtowners, we finally made it! The Cooper Young Fest celebrated its 27th year, with expectations of over 130,000 attendees.  It is billed as "Memphis' most anticipated outdoor celebration" and "the paramount event of the Summer".  Cooper Young is Memphis' largest Historic District.  Over 425 artisans from around the nation presented original art and hand made crafts, with local musicians on 3 separate stages, and even a children's play area.  So firstly, The Hubs and I decided to meander over to relatives B & S's home in Cooper Young, to see if they had any available parking spots left in their driveway. They were out enjoying the festivities, and we didn't want to hinder their friends who were already parked in the drive.  After scoring a new blender for The Daughter (bring on the smoothies!) at a yard sale across the street, serendipitously, a spot opened up, so we grabbed it!!   B & S live a few blocks from the actual fest, but parking was full all the way up and down the streets as far as the eye could see!    
                                        
  Some CYers  had their own block parties going on, complete with food, drinks, and karaoke! The whole neighborhood was in celebration mode!  Remember that Memphis Summer heat I was complaining about a couple of weeks ago?  It was hiding all day long!! Some people were actually wearing jackets, as the temp had only reached a mild 66 degrees!!

When we got to the actual fest, on first glance it seemed that all 130, 000 people had arrived at the same time that we had! The multitudinous masses, the conflux of congeries... In other words--it was a big crowd!!!   

We saw lots of interesting people !! Some I would have liked to have had the chance to be able to sit down and chat with...  Everyone was having a great time.

There were so many amazing things to see !!  Stall after stall after stall of handmade items!! The art was so intriguing and thought provoking.  These paintings caught my eye with their bright colors!!  Btw-you can click on the pics to see them larger and catch all the details.  

 I really enjoyed how this  artist used actual vinyl records, then cut them so meticulously into the shapes of the artists  who recorded the songs.  Some people are so creative!! 

A few other things that attracted my attention were these beautiful paintings done on old windows.  What a great idea!  I also loved the usage of actual book covers in mixed media. Very nice!

One Artist was even using the Festival as her studio.  Her paintings were beautiful! It was interesting to see her at work.  

There were so many wonderful handcrafted items!!  I really loved this chair, made with the logo for this year's fest on the back, and with a seat made of ties! I wonder where all of these ties have been.  What a great way to repurpose!!   

Homemade candles and handmade soaps were definitely some of the most popular items for sale at the Festival.  I like to think I know a lot about different candle scents, but these were some that I had never before encountered (and I'm not sure if I want to encounter them again!).   

  The Festival featured lots of carnival style food, but I was so interested in all the wares, that I didn't even get around to trying any of it.  Next time I'm trying some Olde Fashioned Soda and some warm Bavarian nuts! We saw relatives A & F on the way out tho, and F got to sample the shaved ice.  

Speaking of being on the way out, I'm going to leave you here for now, but stay tuned for part 2 of Cooper Young Fest/A Midtown Meanderer's Weekend.  I will leave you with this thought as I close...

Peace out...