road closed for Vista festival

Princes Avenue is closed to traffic once a year for the Vista Festival organised by the local traders. There were tents and gazebos with singers, comedians, magicians and story tellers in. Lots of food stalls outside their own restaurants. Beauticians and hair stylists demonstrating outside of their shops. Scrap store was there and the resident arts worker Liz showed her "gowns"...many people had their photos taken with their heads popping out of the neckline..a bit like the seaside comedy bathers where you can pop your head through the hole and have your photo taken....the black and white one is made of aerosol lids and the blue and white angel  outfit is made of latex gloves....

found Waynes tent where some of his youth club were helping him with his elephant camera

I have removed the  original picture as I didn't ask the young lads permission....so took a photo of my screen... you can see the reflection of my top......I don't know how to edit.......crop...whatever...

Its a homemade old fashioned type of box camera....I dare say it has a type name.....it has a cloth hood at the rear where they make sure that you are in the frame....the book raises and lowers the box for focus.......on the left side is a leg off a pair of jeans.... this is to block the light whilst inserting the arm in it to manipulate the prepared photo paper into the right position ready for the front cap to come off and count one elephant two elephants three elephants ......up to thirty elephants....the equivalent of 30 seconds...

this produces the equivalent of a negative which is dunked in a developing solution and then into a stop bath. the results are then photographed and changed to a print and printed off...

There were lots of artists stalls with paintings and photographs and a tent where you could pose as a model or try your hand at drawing....

A super patchwork stall....and many more ......all of which I forgot to photograph..........

there was quite a lot of people around but because of the threat of rain...forecast for the whole afternoon the bands were moved into the church halls etc....so the sounds were missing and empty spaces where they should have been....There was an area roped off for dancing and a older generation couple lindy hopping in 1930/40s style clothing were giving a great show. At Artlink there was an opportunity for the children to  decorate a white baseball cap.....and inside a vintage fair..      Lots of charity stalls too. The shop that belonged to Ronald Gifts mother was open too. The pub car park had a BBQ and a band in a lockup at the back....so there was plenty going on but with the threat of rain and the sensible moving of the bands inside ....the atmosphere had changed

I met lots of people I hadn't seen in a long time and got plenty of hugs.......