Alameda’s annual street party, The Park Street Art and Wine Fair” is part block party, part shopping, part high school reunion (for those who went to HS in Alameda) but most of all a whole lot of fun.
For the past six years, I worked the event for my former employer and this year was the first time that I got to enjoy all of the festivities. Many of the bars and restaurants on Park Street set up special deals for the event. Linguini’s had their pizza window and shots of Jägermeister, boy that has the the 20-something crowd written all over it. Cera Una Volta and the new Wine Bar had tastings for those who love the grape.
Because there is so much to write about I will give only highlights.
The Beer: four types were available through the fair, Lagunitas, Fat Tire, Heineken and Pyramid Hefeweizen. None are my favorites, but I tried all four in the spirit of the event. I settled into the Fat Tire.
The Alameda Fire Department Pancake Breakfast was just the right thing for a Sunday morning. The crew was efficient getting the crowd their breakfast and it was cool to see the old fire trucks. The kid in everyone still likes fire trucks.
The music was great. The bands selected gave the entire fair a great vibe. I like the Hitmen they had a great party vibe. The Sun Kings are an Alameda favorite performing covers of Beatles tunes. The great thing about the Sun Kings is the audiences from 20-50 all know the words to the songs. We saw a lot of people rocking and dancing. My favorite was a tottler named Henry who was taking his rocking to the music very seriously.
Big Congrats to Rob Ratto and the volunteer crew who made this event as special as it is every year. Rob only 363 days until the beer starts flowing again for this event.
