Maitland Art Festival

As I mentioned the other day I decided to head to Maitland for the Art Festival this weekend. My friend Linda was happy to join me and even though David canceled (too hard to regroup after a busy show in Kansas City last weekend)we decided to go for it.
We left midday Saturday with a late lunch at the way out of town at LongDoggers on Post RD.Our first stop in Orlando was IKEA. Last time went went over we had gone to Mall at Millenia...but ran out of time. Someone had described IKEA as sort of Disneyland with furniture and housewares instead of rides. We were curious. This time we skipped the mall and went straight to the store. All I can say is it was interesting. The prices are great...college kids or people just starting out could make their money go a long way..but you also could certainly get carried away and find yourself with an armload of things that "are so reasonable" and find yourself spending $$$$$$
but I did find these two pillows for only $9.99 each...shoot...for that price if they only lasted a few months they'd be worth it! haha The store is huge...you go in and follow the arrows on a path through the store. There were lots of people...LOTS of STUFF and it was a little weird! The even have a restaurant in the store and a grocery store attached......kind of bizarre. We had fun...but we were also ready to get out of there! hah interesting..............
It was a beautiful day and promised to be a beautiful evening...possibly even on the cool side (not really... it was pleasant...but warmer than we expected). The show is in Maitland around Lake Lily. It's one of the only shows that is open until 10:00 pm. Once the sun goes down (which is about when we arrived) and the temperature drops...the lights come on and it really is a nice venue. There was live music in a couple of locations around the lake, art of course and food and beverages...we just walked around and enjoyed the evening. I will say there wasn't anything that really caught my eye that I wished I had enough money to buy...except maybe some pretty light fixtures that had sea shells on/in the shade. Sounds like it could be tacky...these definitely were not...they were beautiful...but well out of my price range if I even had anywhere to put them. Soooo I enjoyed looking at them.
After we walked around...we headed across the street to the place David turned us on to 2 years ago...Antonio's. It was just as good as we remembered. No squash soup this time...but the eggplant parmigiana and garlic bread were good enough to make up for that. It was delicious!
We enjoyed our dinners and headed back to the hotel in time to see Alabama finish off the Gators. no big surprise there
Loved the cooler temperatures and the spot. Beautiful old oak trees all over the place, some brick roads, the lake etc. It's a nice spot in central Florida.
Next week David will be in the Winter Park show a few miles down the road...who knows...maybe we go see that one too.

Cherry Creek Art Festival weekend

The Art festival started on Saturday, July 2, 2011. David and Bridget got down there early...to finish getting set up. Elizabeth and I took a great walk through some of the neighborhoods near our hotel. We took one left and went straight...and eventually ended up at a nice park. The neighborhood was lovely...lots of big trees, nice flowers and older brick homes. Everywhere you looked, it seemed like someone was walking a dog. There were lots of walkers, joggers, bikers...seems like an active city.
This big sign was actually at the entrance of the mall opposite the streets where the art festival was taking place. very convenient! haha
Along the streets in Cherry Creek were big sculptures, lots of flower planters, shops, of course and any kind of coffee shop or restaurant you could want!
After our walk...we cleaned up and went to the show. Saturday was nice...cool in the morning...but up into the 90's later in the day. The skies were clear. There were people and dogs everywhere.
In our group...Ryan, Megan, Liz, Bridget, Martha, Paul, David & I.
Megan met up with a friend who currently lives in Denver. Jim went to F.I.T. in Melbourne. He graduated, got a job in Orlando...then a year ago moved to Denver. He met up with Bridget, Megan and I for lunch. Later, his girlfriend (*originally from Melbourne) and he joined John, Tony, Megan and Brenna for a drink (or two?). It was fun meeting him.
There was a lot of activity around David's booth.
It was nice...as usual, to be able to take a break and sit and watch the crowd...at the booth.



We spent the day/evening at the show and then we all had a dinner planned at John Elways Steakhouse.

Art Show weekend

Let me start by saying we got a new computer today...which is great...except now I have to figure out how to do everything all over again! Agggh even when things are better...they are a challenge. But...I will not complain because I have a computer that now goes right to the site you want it to go to and it's FAST and it's capable of handling newer versions of the software I want, etc etc.
So now that I have successfully retrieved my two images...I will tell you about the annual Art Show.
JOhn had some dental work done at the end of the week...so his mouth was hurting and he was not doing much. I went to the art show alone and made the rounds. The past few years we have been part of the "Patron" program; where you pay (paid) $325.00 and for that you got $225.00 in vouchers for art purchases, free reserved parking (my favorite perk...besides the art) a covered sitting area near the main stage with complimentary beer, wine and water. JOhn would usually be off fishing...so it was a trade-off...his trip...my $ for art.
Having a place to relax was nice...and plenty of good water was great...but I don't drink beer and I didn't have anyone to join me and have a glass of wine...so when they increased the fee by $100.00 dollars...I decided that I would just get $225.00 from John and forgo the other benefits. (They also have a party on Thursday before the show...local restaurants provide food and beverages, they have a band...every is there to see and be seen I couldn't care less! and they also have a viewing of the prize winning art on display for patrons before the show opens on sunday. That includes mimosas ( I do like those)and a continental breakfast. I only ever went to that once....so again...when the price went up $100.00...I decided not to participate. I did buy one little piece of artwork...but it was only $20.00...so I was happy.
John DID join me for the Saturday night program which included the band "Asleep at the Wheel" and another local band that is a regular at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp...which would explain why I was not familiar with them...haha They were great...so we might have to venture up to LCFC sometime for some frog legs, alligator nuggets and music from the band! As usual...it's like old home week when you go to the art show...anyone in town is there....it's kind of like a big drunken reunion. There is beer and wine for sale...so by 7-8pm the crowd is usually interesting. We did run into a lot of old friends and had a great time...seeing some folks we haven't seen in several years. I had several compliments."You look great...you look exactly the same!"...and that was great to hear...but since half of the people who were telling me that were also trying very hard to focus and walk in a straight line...I'm going to take it with a grain of salt...haha. I had one or two glasses of wine myself...but stumbling around drunk in a big crowd doesn't really appeal to me...so I kept it under control! haha In spite of that...it was nice to see all the people and enjoy a lovely evening and good music. And even though I'm sure given a choice John would've taken fishing....over the art show...he had a good time too.