Meet & Meat on the Street

I said I'd get to "Autumn" but I never said I was going to talk traditional. Well, not just yet anyway. When people talk about Fall, they always mention apple picking, foliage color changing, Back to School, and cooler, crisp weather. When I think Fall, I think STREET FAIRS. I guess that can also be a spring and summer thing, but I prefer the ones in September and October. Not that I don't love walking the goods in the spring and summer months, but doing it while it's raining or I'm melting isn't the most pleasant.

We went to the one in Rutherford on Labor Day. That was our kick-off into the Autumn street fair season. I'm still ruminating on what we saw there and how to describe it. Reading other people's descriptions, you'd think this was the be-all, end-all of street fairs. What I read online somewhere is that it has tripled in size, tons of vendors, food, etc. What we found was mostly....Etcetera.

First, we were inundated with political propaganda. I'll be honest- I couldn't tell who was whom, people were shoving promotional material in our faces and hands left and right. I think E was holding a balloon for a republican, and of course I was holding cards and papers for...well, something else. Second, it was huge- but it seemed mostly like junk out of Grandma's garage (attic, basement). WEIRD. Just. Weird. Old shoes, cups, plates, dirty handbags, paper dolls, and more. Lastly, it was like walking out of my car into 1986. If I could've taken photos (we tried) of the over-tanned, over-bleached hair, and stonewashed denim, I would have. But, I didn't want to get punched in the face. I even saw those old hanging feather things we used to wear in our hair in 7th grade. Not just being sold, but being worn. Still with the "roach clip" used to attach to hair...or whatever. I know feathers in the hair are the new "in" thing, but this is not what these 2011 6th & 7th graders are clamoring for. Trust me- Sydney (my mother's helper) & Jordan (Syd's sister) have the new fangled sort and they look nothing like the wares being sold here.

The food was decent. There were a lot of offerings. We were starving when we got there so we went right for the first burgers we found. But, there was Greek food, lots of desserts, and there were restaurants open that looked pretty good if we didn't want Street Meat. I bought a brownie that was pretty gross, but the cheeseburger was on the better end of the usual fair offerings.

Safe to say, while the Rutherford street fair was highly entertaining and for sure we'll be back, it isn't one of my favorite for buying things. What I can say is that I've never really been in Rutherford and there are some GORGEOUS old homes there. It almost looks like Ocean Grove, NJ. I'm not sure if they're considered Victorian, but some of them are simply stunning. I'd go back just to look at homes.

Onward to some of my favorite street fair offerings....My absolute favorite is the Hoboken Arts & Music Festival. http://www.hobokennj.org/departments/human-services/cultural-affairs/arts-music-festival/. I've missed like one since 2003. I'm pretty sure that's when I discovered it. And the one miss wasn't my fault. B got food poisoning from some bad hamburger at a motorcycle run. He was lying under the dining room table sick and moaning and I didn't think it right to leave. Anyway- I've never let him forget it. They just have the BEST stuff. Jewelry, baby/toddler clothes, unique handbags, paintings, photographs, pottery, statues, and more. We've always bought my mom and mother-in-law their birthday gifts there (October birthdays). I've gone in heat, chill and one year, in pouring rain with an infant. Granted, it's not the same since 3663 FOOD & Frozen Monkey have gone out of business, but I'll still be there. Get there EARLY. Once the crowd gets heavy, it's hard to see anything.

Another favorite is Ridgewood. It's usually before Hoboken and it's big. They have really good stuff too. I think a lot of the same or similar vendors are there. I got E an awesome Muno (Yo Gabba Gabba) towel last year. It was $35 and I was told by some loudmouth girl last year that she got it online for cheaper. Whatever- you go to a street fair to get cool stuff right there & support the vendors, not to look for it cheaper online. Towel has held up all year and my son likes it. This is another you have to get their EARLY. Parking is a little easier in Ridgewood than Hoboken. You're not paying $25 Event Parking even if you have to walk a little ways to get there. My favorite pair of earrings by E. Warder were purchased at this street fair in 2009. They have a nice range of items and you can definitely do some early holiday shopping there. http://www.ridgewoodnj.net/day_detail.cfm?date=9/18/2011

Rounding out my top 3 is Nyack, NY. They usually have a few spread out from May-September. I'm finding conflicting information on when it is this year- or maybe there are just more than one this fall. I've seen Sept 25 and Oct 9 online. When I get more solid info, I'll update but I'm putting up the links to what I've found. Nyackhttp://festivalnet.com/fairs_and_festivals/index.php?State_local=NY
http://www.pjspromotions.com/consumer_site/consumer_schedule.html

I do also have an honorable mention that goes to Tenafly. I never seem to know exactly when this is going on until the day before. I usually see it in my town newspaper. But here is a listing of all the street fairs going on in the area- http://www.jcpromotions.info/pages/schedule.html. Anyway, we love to walk around Tenafly, it kind of sucks that it's on a Sunday and most of the shops are closed, but it's still nice to be able to eat outside at one of the many restaurants that offer that and to window shop.