EASTHAMPTON – The theme was “Carnival,” and, if nothing else, the colors showed it.
During the early afternoon of Easthampton’s Cultural Chaos street festival, Cottage Street was awash with pink, yellow and blue umbrellas, floral and rainbow-colored unbrellas, and umbrellas designed to look like cartoon characters, complete with ears.
Those umbrellas were needed as a cold rain fell over spectators who had gone to buy food and crafts from street vendors, listen to live music and watch performances that fit the theme.
Angelica Cardone was slipping on her handstand canes. Cardone, who performs under the name Angelica the Acrobat, was in the middle of the street atop a system of wood blocks and metal rods, her legs twisting in the air. She couldn’t get a good grip on the wet blocks.
Even though she thought the rain had kept some of her potential audience indoors, she said she was excited about the people who had circled around her in a downpour, and whenever she slipped, she still smiled.
“It’s nice to see that the people who are here are really spirited and happy to be here,” she said. “I wish I could give them a better performance.”
A blues rock band played a set in front of an occasionally empty parking lot. A giant chess set sat unused under an awning, its oversized knights and bishops yielding to no man. One storefront chalkboard assured passersby, “It’s DRY in here – come on in!”
Kim Ripley, who owns Off the Map Tattoo with her husband, helped her daughter Cecelia and her friends – all clad in blue tie-dye T-shirts – sell temporary tattoos, designed by the shop’s artists, for a dollar apiece.
The Ripleys said they hoped the weather would clear later in the day, but even so, business had been successful in the half-hour since they set up shop. Cecelia counted a sales tally, “… 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 tattoos.”
At the east end of the street, a pair of Hula-hoopers did a routine to the sounds of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.” As they spun the rings around their necks and wrists, a crowd lined up, hovering close to the storefronts across the street.
At the west end of the festival, Dan Kelm and Greta Sibley headed toward Kelm’s studio at One Cottage Street in an effort to get out of the rain. Kelm said he was disappointed the weather prevented this year’s Cultural Chaos from drawing the same crowds it did last year.
“It was just a zoo,” he said, adding that he was happy to see people coming together regardless of the downpour.
“It’s people banding together,” Kelm said. “It’s a good sign. We need that. We need our communities to come together to celebrate what we can do.”
Jack Evans can be reached at jackevan@indiana.edu