Festival Fail

Sometimes things don't work out.

Last weekend was Tastes of Wellington West, a one-day festival in my neighbourhood where all the local stores offer discounts or freebies. Sounds good, right? If you read the news articles about the event you'd think so - hey hundreds of people came out - it must have been great!

But as a local resident I hafta say it was ...not good.

Part of the problem with this fest is that people are desperate for free stuff. They will line up 30 minutes for just about anything. And that's what what happened whenever a store gave something away. Want a tiny cup of free ice cream? 30 minutes. Stella Luna, one the local gelato stores, had an insane line right to the door. OK, OK, maybe I'm exaggerating - Margot was able to score a free cotton candy pretty easily. But still, sometimes the effort people make to get something free is kindof silly.

The spoils of war

Another part of the problem with this fest is that the sheer volume of people piling into the limited number of small local stores actually makes it one of the hardest days to shop. There are just people constantly in and out of stores and in your face that it makes it hard to want to try or buy much of anything.

It probably didn't help that it was hitting 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday - even the air felt like it was sweating.

Do I sound like a grumpy old man? Hurumph.

I am sure festivals like these are lifeblood for local business. So I would never say don't hold them. But like Canada Day in Ottawa, which often sees worst and slower service for more limited selections, maybe the best option if you're a local resident is to get out of dodge until the brew-ha-ha is over!