the dream of the grove is alive on gifford lane

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and the dream of the nineties is alive and well there too (If you didn't catch the Portlandia reference, you might as well skip this whole paragraph and just catch me in the next one). The Gifford Lane Art Stroll is Portlandia-ish in the very best way possible, in that kind of earnest nostalgic way. It's kind of costumey, kind of corny and totally heart-warming. 

The Gifford Lane Art Stroll is a yearly event that takes place shortly after the much bigger, more commercial (literally - that was me in the commercial) Coconut Grove Arts Festival. This community art fair shuts down Gifford Lane (behind the tennis courts that are behind The Last Carrot) and they set up stands featuring local artists ranging from full on kitsch (see the photo below of Designer Shark Tooth Necklaces) to crazy talented (Trina, who's lived on Gifford Lane longer than any of the other residents, opens up her house and serves her famous cucumber gin punch and showcases her very, very nice portraits). There's an arepa stand, two live band tents, popsicles form Bianco made for a nice addition this year, BBQ sold right out of a backyard, tons of dogs, and, of course, art!

I learned that one of my new favorite ways to spend a Sunday is listening to a band called the Solar Dogs (shelled out ten big ones for their CD - yes CD! I don't remember the last time I bought a hard copy CD!) while next to a guy in a shirt tie-dyed in the shape of a lobster. 

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