This past weekend, when it got so hot that I stopped the fan in my
living room from oscillating and angled it straight at me while I sat
motionless on the hardwood floor, I never once stopped thinking, “It’s
about fucking time.” I will take the discomfort of summer heat over the
bone-chilling dampness of winter any day of the week. As I lay sweating
on my floor, I realized it was time to make the summer’s first batch of
gazpacho. I then immediately started dreaming of eating other summer
foods (mostly berries, by the handful) while sitting outside in the
scorching sun.
Summer has arrived, thank god, just in time for outdoor-festival and
block-party season. I love me a good street fair—sweaty,
glistening people in good moods brushing past one another, loud talk
and laughter commingling with the smell of grilled meats and the
possibility of fresh-squeezed lemonade and roasted corn at every turn.
This weekend brings the venerable West Seattle Summer Fest,
three full days of revelry and food (including, according to their
vendor list, roasted corn from the “Kornman of Washington”). Note to
non–West Seattleites: If you take the Elliott Bay Water Taxi from
downtown and close your eyes, you can almost convince yourself you’re
traveling to another world entirely.
West Seattle Summer Fest, Fri–Sat July 11–12, 10
am–8 pm; Sun July 13, 11 am–7 pm. Saturday Night Street
Dance at 8 pm.
