I haven't been to an Art Fair in 5 years; was there a chance there was something different? I trekked down about 3p on Sunday. They start to pack up at 4p on Sunday so you can't go later than this.
Note the main picture and the photo from 2015; same dude in the same cart sitting in the same spot. Only the ads have changed. Welcome to Boring Fort Lauderdale.
Same old animals from 2007. There's a giraffe now if you happen to have 20 foot ceilings in your condo.
Even the art seemed the same. I saw something I liked with no price. Was it $300 or $5,000? I wasn't going to ask. 500 people who know nothing about marketing their art. I've never actually seen anyone carrying a piece of art at the show.
The red door actually had customers, which is what the Art Fair is all about. No food trucks or food stands encountered; the Art Fair is just a trick to get people to come to Las Olas for lunch.
Review 10/2015
You know that the summer is over when it's time for another Art Fair.
If you've never been to a Las Olas Art Fair, you should know that it isn't so much about Art; it's about drawing people down to Las Olas so that the restaurants can have a stellar day. Most people just walk around and don't buy much; but the restaurants will be packed. Las Olas is closed from Cheesecake Factory to the Tarpon Bridge, so plan accordingly.
When I first moved to Fort Lauderdale I remember thinking how cool it would be to have an art show right in the neighborhood. Real New York City stuff. The first one was 1 week after I moved in. And you really need artwork when you first move into a new Condo. I remember walking the entire length of the show; and then back up the other way. I also remember that I didn't buy anything. Its not much different than art galleries; its mostly junk and the stuff that you really like is thousands of dollars.
In reality, the Art Show is more of an event than a place where you go to buy artwork. Its a spectacle. You don't see many people walking around with anything they've actually purchased.
There's all kinds of cool stuff, like the big animal sculptures. Where am I going to put a big giraffe, on my balcony? What condo board is going to allow one of these things?
Into Pipe Art? You'll see some of that also.
Everyone tries to cash in on the Art Show. There's a dude by Cheesecake Factory with a cooler selling water for $1; the Riverside has a big setup on the Lawn-Where-O'Haras-Was where they're selling sausage and pepper sandwiches for $8.
But if you want to eat, I recommend one of the burger stations, where I got a pretty good sausage and peppers sandwich a few shows ago.
One good thing about the Art Fair is that Las Olas Blvd is closed down on Saturday and Sunday night. Saturday is great; you can walk down Las Olas without any traffic at all. On Sunday, they're breaking everything down, so it's not quite as pleasant.
What amazes me is that so many people keep coming. Its the same vendors and the same stuff and the same Giraffes every time. What are we up to now, 4 per year? Enough already.
But I suppose that the owners have calculated that it isn't worth the effort to have a few employees open for the extra few hours during the fare. Lost business for them, lost tips for the workers. C'est la vie...