Art Fair isn't fair...

I actually enjoy summer in Ann Arbor- it's usually mild (though not for the past week or so), there are few undergrads around to jostle with for parking space, retail attention and coffee, we can bike instead of drive, and if you discount the heat, the place is really quite pretty. But for 4 days in the summer, the heart of Ann Arbor is close to unbearable. Not entirely, but close. Yes people, the insanity of the Art Fair has descended upon us. Oh, the horror...

First of all, tell me this, how do the following items qualify as art?
1) Pyjamas (Liberty St.)
2) Shampoo (South U.)
3) Pressure cooker (???!!!) (Liberty St.)
4) Socks (Maynard St.)
5) Camping equipment (State St.) (although the fact that Bivouac offers anything at more than 30% discount is a miracle I will never complain about...)

Secondly, is it really humanly justifiable to charge $5 for a funnel cake or elephant ear (and this is regardless of whether or not you choose any topping...)- I've never had them before and have been dying to have either one of those ever since I saw my first ones at the Art Fair two years ago. But I shudder at the thought of spending that kind of money on something that not only requires very little skill to make, but is also at the end of the day nothing more than deep fried flour, eggs and sugar. And despite annual vows to never do so, what do we do again this year? Have a meal at the Art Fair. What do I get for $10? A sad attempt at what was advertised as Greek seafood pilaf served to me precariously on a plastic plate by a woman with a Southern accent. She called me "honey". How sweet, and authentically Mediterranean... And at 10 bucks- I should have just gotten myself 8 cups of Grande coffe from Starbucks and be almost half my way towards a caffeine-induced suicide. That would have been less painful that trying to ingest that wannabe seafood pilaf...

Ok, so I'm complaining too much... I concede that there were noteworthy items at the Art Fair (and I don't mean the $1 and $5 bins at Urban Outfitters). Some of the ceramic tiles were really pretty, a couple of mural artists had gorgeous stuff on sale, and there were some pieces of handmade jewellery that I would have gotten had they not cost more that everything I was wearing that day put together. Oooh, and a floppy woven boatsman hat that I really wanted but figured I'd look silly in. We did buy stuff though- two corn dogs and a Snickers Swirl frozen custard to be exact. See, who said the Art Fair wasn't affordable?? And Jude got himself a hat for $5.99 from Sam's that he's been wearing IN the house for the past two days. Don't ask... go figure. If you ask me, he looks like Gilligan. In fact, he's wearing it now, and it's 1am on a Saturday morning...

[I have to say that I really like the official poster this year though. It's so incredibly sweet and whimsical. We bought last year's poster and I think we might go back tomorrow and get this too.]