a peek inside the fishbowl

Like many of my  Westboro-area neighbours we are kinda proud of Westfest. Our chests puff out a little when talk comes around to this little neighborhood festival that grew. It’s become our own summertime tradition. It draws massive crowds, big acts, and best of all, it’s free.

The girls always marvel at the fact that it’s at the end of our street. I do too. I think that’s pretty cool.

We’ve been doing Westfest for a few years now so I think I’m qualified to give some advice on how to do it right with kids. ETA: Westfest 2010 is on this weekend: June 11-13)

• If you live close enough (I’m talking a 1-2 km radius) – WALK. And rent your driveway to the highest bidder. :) Parking is a little crazy, so consider taking public transit OR get comfortable with the idea that you’ve going to leave your car faaaaar from the action.
• Leave the bikes at home or lock them up outside of the main drag. Please don’t walk around with them. It’s crowded, and no one appreciates getting their toes run over. You can actually park your bike in a secure/supervised area at Richmond and Tweedsmuir for only a toonie.
• Wear comfortable walking shoes and haul out that umbrella stroller, because it’s a bit of walk if you’re going to take everything in.
• Tie balloons securely around little wrists! :)
• Be ready for just about any kind of weather. Some years it has been incredibly cold while other years we’ve come close to fainting from heat stroke.
• Make a food plan. If it’s a nice day the patios will be packed. Many restaurants extend on to the street and serve a very basic menu in order to take pressure off the kitchen staff. If you don’t have a plan and find yourself walking from resto to resto at 12:15 you will soon come to regret it, especially if there are kids involved. One year we just plain gave up, and ordered pizza to go from Newport and ate it by the side of the street.
• Check the map and plan your day. Merchants get involved too, and there’s always a lot of stuff going on for kids.

We always end up making multiple visits. It’s just easier that way.

There’s a lot of other neat stuff going on too. The Elation Centre (a Fishbowl advertiser) has partnered with lululemon and will be outside the store (Richmond at Churchill) doing fun yoga “competitions” from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. They’ll be rounding up moms, dads, kids and see who can perform and hold a posture. (I am looking forward to seeing this. We all know how much kids love to show up their parents, right?) 

Music is truly what Westfest is all about (at least for me). I haven’t even touched on the musical acts! They are above par.

My only wish for Westfest (and maybe this is the year that it’ll change?) is that they could “fill in” the emptier parts of Richmond Road with other acts – buskers, barbershop quartets, beignet stands, animal acts, anything – to make that long walk from Golden Ave. to the Superstore seem a little more compelling.

What do you think? Do you have anything to add? Are you going to Westfest this year?