A Festival for the Rest of Us

I gave up on the Watermelon Festival years ago; too hot, too many strollers, too little reward for the effort. But I've been a regular at the Jonny Z Festival since its inception and today was my third. Mercifully, it wasn't the hotter-than-hell weather that it was last year, so vendors were still smiling rather than melting.

Although Joe's Inn was open, it was crowded, so we made do with slices of pizza and lemonade. Mexican Cokes were also very popular, so there was a lot of bottle-swigging going on. I love how old-school it looks.

A lot of the appeal of this festival is that it's populated by the craftspeople and artisans of the Bizarre Market, easily some of RVA's most talented creators. We strolled from table to table, checking out recycled stationary, essential oils and all kinds of jewelry (I may not wear it, but I can admire it). My friend bought a beautiful handcrafted necklace for his new sweetie.

The Farm to Family bus was there and a friend stocked up on corn and peaches, both of which are superb at the moment. I passed a woman with a baby on her back and a melon in each hand; if she'd had a basket on her head, the picture would have been complete.

As always, the music at the festival was terrific. I thoroughly enjoyed Catnip Dreams, an all-girl five-piece with Allison of Hot Lava on drums. They had loads of energy and it's hard to resist all those female voices (not to mention those white sunglasses!). On bass was Laurie from Sprout; clearly she's a woman of many talents. Josh Small was up next and he never disappoints with his heartfelt delivery. I just don't know how he could stand wearing that knit Redskins cap on a day like today.

I think there may have been fewer vendors this year than the last two. In the past I've been able to score an original drawing or print, but the only art today was of the painting variety and nothing called to me, as art should if you're going to live with it. Not that I should be buying art right now, but if I'd seen the right thing, I'm sure I would have been able to rationalize it.

Of course I ran into plenty of friends, especially around the band area, a surprising number of whom I'd seen just last night at the art walk. A music lover need never want in this town, that's for sure.

For the third year in a row, I left thinking that the funky little festival would be exactly the kind of thing Jonny Z. would have thought of, organized and participated in; it's a fitting tribute to a guy who had his hand in so many aspects of this city's culture. I have one of his prints hanging in my bedroom so I'm constantly reminded of his legacy.

Like the button says, "Live your life like Jonny Z." It's not even corny; it's as worthwhile a goal as any I can think of.