The key to attending the Dogwood Festival without going completely bat-shit crazy (for those like me who abhor crowds) is to go early – especially if it’s raining.

One of my brothers is visiting from Anchorage and I thought it a great way to show him the park, get some fresh air to further aggravate his allergies and play with some wildlife.

They say it’s the first year in some time that the dogwoods have actually been in bloom for the event, and with the fresh, cool, wet air the park was perfect. I think staff outnumbered visitors by a 5:1 ratio at 10am, the funnel cake/pizza/beer (mmmm funnel cake) stands were starting to warm up their goods, and the artisans were socializing – talking about the storm last night and admiring each others work.

One of the many reasons I haven’t been to this event in some years is simple: strollers.

I’m perplexed at the juxtaposition of banning our four legged babies during the event when even bigger cluster fucks are caused by moms and dads pushing wheely carts for their own wee ones. Bulding on what Daniel said in the previous post, most of the city dogs who visit the park have adequate crowd intelligence to stay next to their parents and efficiently weave in and out of the pedestrian traffic. Most of the parents pushing strollers, on the other hand, are oblivious at how they slow the traffic flow on the already narrow pathways to booths. They park them at the entrance to a tent, blocking entry for others. Better still, many of them have backpacks they seem to forget about until they turn and whack you with them.

I’m just sayin’… at a festival attended by many singletons in the surrounding neighborhoods/villages whose children have fur and poop in the backyard, I’d like to see equal discrimination with regards to who can attend.

Oh, and they do get mad props for having a parking lot for bicycles.