I’ve written about this before (like, approximately 600 times this summer), but street festivals are absolutely my favorite part of Atlanta. This weekend was–even by my festival-ridden standards–pretty chock full o’ street fairs. I managed to hit three–the East Atlanta Strut, the Emory Block Party, and the Festival on Ponce. Running through them all would take more words than anyone needs to read about my weekend, so we’re going to do this Amazon review style. Review time!

East Atlanta Strut

Pros: This is basically my favorite festival in Atlanta. Set in the coolest bar district currently gentrifying, the festival is a dense set of food trucks, dog rescues, and weird art goods. I purchased a PBR-themed charm bracelet, a gold glitter Pray for ATL hands magnet, and a print of Darth Vader painted up as the madonna. Plus, I played with a beagle for like 20 minutes. All of my favorite things!
Cons: To get to my volunteer booth by 7:45 am, I had to get up at 6:45, which is earlier than anyone should have to get up on a Saturday. My co-boothers were an hour late, as is the way with nonprofits. It was frustrating.

Emory Block Party

Pros: I encountered my Arkansan sorority sister and we got to yell “woo pig sooey” at each other like nerds. Plus there was a moon bounce, so that’s pretty sweet.
Cons: It turns out that large crowds of Emory students still distress me. Also, I fell off the mechanical bull after like five seconds. Also also, I got winded in the moon bounce, because I am apparently decrepit. Hot!

Festival on Ponce

Pros: Every dog in town was at this festival, and they were all adorable. Plus, I managed to get sesame fries with sriracha cheese dip. It was amazing as it sounds. Towards the end, my parents and I got to stand outside and admire the Hare Krishna temple’s chanting, which was… unexpected.
Cons: Because the host park on Ponce is only 20 feet wide (more or less), the festival sort of meandered lengthwise rather than expanding out in a way that made sense. Also, I was not allowed on the moon bounce. Sadness.

Now that the final fest-tastic summer-ish weekend is over, I’m already planning for the fall festivals. We’re swapping out the King of Pops and the paper fans for chili and pumpkin products in all their various forms. If I don’t consume pumpkin beer, bread, and seeds in a single day by the end of the semester, I will regard my weekends as clearly less than ideal.