Terry and I drove to College Park where about five blocks of Edgewater Drive were blocked off to make way for two stages for Jazz Fest. Restaurants had tables set out on the street and walkways. Some large tables had been purchased by corporate sponsors. We walked south down the length of the festival. Lawn chairs picnic baskets and bottles of wine were everywhere. Every block people would try and sell orange arm bands. The event was free, but I guess they hoped to get donations with pier pressure and guilt. I planned to meet Summer Rodman at some point since she wanted me to donate a print of a sketch I did at a Kerouac event for a book being printed about Jack’s life in Orlando.
My first order of business was to find some food. A street vendor was offering potato salad and two hot dogs for $5. We found a spot to sit on some steps close to the stage. As soon as I finished eating, I started looking for a vantage point to sketch from. As we wandered in the ever thickening crowd, we bumped into Summer. She didn’t have the release forms we had talked about, but she pointed to an empty corporate table and said she had bought the table and no one was using it. She suggested we sit there. That is when I started this sketch. Terry wandered to look in a ( few stores and when she came back she read a magazine. The music acts were, Miss Jacqueline Jones, The Roadblock Blues Band and The Les Be More Band. Shak Nasty played at the stage at the opposite end of the festival but we never saw his set.
It was a nice cool night with a crisp full moon. The whole event reminded me a bit of the free concerts Terry and I used to attend in New York City’s Central Park. I missed these kind of events which really make me feel like I am part of a thriving community.