36th Annual Willy Street Fair prepares to make us happy to be neighbors
Courtesy: David Michael Miller
Have you got time for one last summer festival? The Willy Street Fair will straddle the Autumnal Equinox this year with sunny and 65 predicted for Saturday September 21 and Sunday September 22, the first day of fall.
The fair is a major fundraiser for Common Wealth Development and the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center. Common Wealth Development and the neighborhood at large have gotten pretty good at putting on this event. The food and retail vendors are more numerous, the music stages highly coordinated and more spophisticated, but the inclusive soul of the neighborhood still shines through.
Maybe its just me who has noticed this but, now fair Saturday is named as “The Willy St. Warm-up” and the actual fair is Sunday. Don’t be confused by these marketing semantics, there will be music, fun, dancing, and food each day, all day.
Saturday features Willy Street Beats, the electronic music festival within the fair. It features local and international DJs including Fred Everything who will also play later at the Plan B Afterparty. More info here: http://ow.ly/p0rPv
Saturday at the fair is from 1:30 to 9 p.m on the 900 and 1000 blocks of Williamson. Music will emanate from three stages: the World Music Stage, the Folk Stage and the DJ Stage.
Sunday is the traditional day at the fair, since it started as a one-day event. The fair will stretch from the 800 to 1000 blocks of Willy Street for a fall-tastic eight hours beginning at 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Over 150 vendors will have food, beer, soft drinks, art and other wares all weekend long. Keep your eyes open for one of the best parts of the fair; impromptu street performers including fire-eaters, jugglers, musicians, and feats of strength.
Something wicked this way comes
On Sunday, come early to get a spot for the world famous Willy Street Fair Parade launching at 11 a.m. for its six block circuit through the neighborhood. Your perception of what is a parade will be turned on its veritable clown ear as you behold the phalanx of fun as it winds its way through our little bohemian bastion.
Prepare to witness a glorious unabashed spectacle; a kaleidoscope of culture, creativity, imagination, and the purest expression of neighborhood joy. The best part is anyone can be in the parade…find out how right here.
Its all about the kids, really. After the parade the bubble rings will be out all afternoon.
All the great features you will receive on Saturday are doubled on Sunday. Now there will be five music stages with both local, regional, and international acts available to assist with your rhythmic hip, knee, arm and smile exercises. View the performance schedule here
Both days feature the Willy Street Fair Raffle with eight Grand Prizes and over 150 additional prizes. All proceeds will fund Commonwealth Development and the Wil-Mar Center programming. You don’t have to be present to win, but why would you leave? See the list of available prizes here.
Crowdsource Journalism
The Willy Street Blog needs a solid since upper management has been victimized by ye olde employment schedule. Send us your photos of the fair so we can build and display this year’s archive and share the fun with everyone. Email your photos to editor@WillyStreetBlog.com or tweet photos to @WillyStreetBlog using hashtag #WSF2013
See all the fun from last Willy Street Fair 2012:
Related: See what happened on Saturday (9/15/2012) at the Fair
Related: See what happened on Sunday (9/16/2102) at the Fair
Related: A look back at how the Willy Street Fair used to be
The Saturday Willy Street Warm-Up has been around since at least 2004.
We are trying to emphasize the two-block, three stage “Willy St. Warm-Up” on Saturday to let everyone know that Sunday is the main day for the Fair. Sunday’s celebration is three blocks long with five performance stages.
Please feel free to contact Common Wealth Development at (608) 256-3527, x22 for more information, or visit our website at http://www.cwd.org/community/events/willy-street-fair/.