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.