Once a month in Sanford they have something called 'Alive after five' where the shops are open late, there is food and beer to be had, and local artist display their wares. Last night I wandered down there to look about. I did not get any food or beer because apparently what you do is buy a ticket and then you just stroll around and get all the food you want. While that actually sounds like a good idea, I was in no mood to end up passed out in the gutter with the remains of five different meals of my shirt.
Instead I just walked around and looked at some of the artist. They had everything, jewelry, photography, paintings and so on. Some of them were pretty neat. Some of them were pretty good. I snapped a few photos of the ones that amused me.
Most people had their wares sprawled out on the sidewalks. The big face seen in this photo was painted on the hood of an old VW bug.
GUNS = PENIS. Everyone got that? Of course you do you hippies.
Heh, I liked these comic-bookish paintings because they look like the kind of people you would find hanging around OBT.
I like the SUV.
Someone's mom escaping from warhol-land? Meow.
Crazy cat lady?
Is this sexy?? I feel a faint stirring in the loins... it may very well be sexy. It's got a faint MILF appeal to it. But...that little dog....it looks like it needs to be kicked.
Butterfly fairy-lady. Actually, this painting was kind of neat because a couple of the butterflies on it were mechanical and slowly flapped their wings.
Kissy kissy. Ok, this guy's stuff (and it was a guy) reminds me too much of homemade valentines we made in 4th grade.
There were a lot of dogs down there. People in Sanford like their snooty dogs. And, finally, the entire walk down there was worth it just to see this guy...
Have a good weekend, ya'll.
2026 Update
Nineteen years back, Ed is at a sidewalk art fair, too proud for the all-you-can-eat beer ticket. Let's ride.
Ah, 2007, when a monthly art walk was discovered by physically wandering into it, not by checking an app. Ed walks down, snaps photos with a camera that probably had a memory card measured in megabytes, and offers critiques like a man who has just learned words. The big changes? First, that ticket system: now you'd scan a QR code, pay through a phone, and get a digital wristband—assuming the event app doesn't crash. Second, the art: back then it was jewelry and paintings on the sidewalk; now half of it would be prints of AI-generated cats, and the old VW bug would have a QR code on the hood. Third, the dogs: Sanford's snooty dogs are now influencers with their own accounts. And fourth, Ed's commentary—if he posted that today, he wouldn't be muttering to a blog; he'd be live-tweeting, and the 'GUNS = PENIS' car would be a meme with a thousand replies. He skipped the beer to avoid a stained shirt. Wise. The internet is the gutter now.
“2007 Ed, why did you turn down an all-you-can-eat-and-drink ticket at a street festival where you'd only have to stroll around? Was it really the shirt, or did you suspect the snooty dogs were judging your life choices?” — Beelzebubba the Third
2007 Ed: So, Beelzebubba, you got me. It wasn’t just the shirt, though the shirt was a real concern—I can see it now, me face-down on the bricks with a half-eaten corn dog stuck to my back and five different sauces mingling in my beard. That alone should be enough. But yeah, I also saw those snooty dogs giving me the once-over, little fluffy judges with their rhinestone collars, like they knew I own a plywood boat and three cats that leave dead animals on my bedroom floor. I figured if I bought that ticket, I’d get all excited, eat a plate of something fancy, and then one of those dogs would sniff my crotch and walk away in disgust. That’s a life judgment I don’t need. So I just walked, took pictures, and saved my beer money for something that doesn’t require strolling. Have a good weekend, ya’ll.
