random thoughts – Day 1,590 – (Thursday) – annual prep work

Downtown is under siege as the city primps and prepares for this Folk Fest, the country’s longest-running and second-largest free folk festival. The organizers have years of experience and execute the timeline like clockwork. The activity level has been off the charts recently, and especially this final week leading up to this weekend's event.

Porta-potties and tent tops on Market Street.

The trim on the bank is freshly painted and the fencing is down. Storefront windows display the annual crop of festive paintings. There  are freshly painted geometric designs on the concrete barriers marking the sidewalk dining at various restaurants.

All day today, clusters of workers in high visibility safety vests were swarming downtown. This morning, tent tops were placed on the lawn at Boarding House Park and the alley behind work, and had already sprouted on spindly legs at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church and on Market Street. 

Porta-potties have appeared in multiple locations. Saw horses have blocked off Arcand Street since Wednesday, and the massive Dance Pavilion tent filled the street. Concrete barriers were set on sidewalks ready for final placement to block off streets and mark off traffic lanes to enter the garage and pedestrian areas. 

Curbside and window boxes are planted with brightly colored flowers. As of this afternoon, street lamps are planted with vivid orange temporary police department No Parking signs. There were probably a lot of surprised drivers returning to their cars and seeing the signs that had suddenly appeared.

Fresh crop of "No Parking" signs.

Friday morning will force a decision from me, but it’s one where I come out okay with either option. I worked in the office today and tomorrow I can work from either home or the office-office downtown. 

The argument for working from home is avoiding the wave of downtown street closings that begins at 6:00 a.m. To make it extra fun, there are construction projects on some of the main roads between my house and downtown.

An argument in favor of working downtown is having an assigned garage parking. There are Italian ices in the freezer at work. And at 6:15 p.m., there is a festival opening parade, after which two major stages have acts scheduled with blue grass, Irish, and blues performers on one and honky-tonk country and merengue at the other. And I will already be there.

It might come down to a coin toss at 8:00 a.m. when I either get into the car to drive downtown or pour another cup of coffee, sit at the home desk, and log in to the computer. It’s nice to have that choice.