Summer Days, 2023

Unlike last year, our church did not set up a booth at the Summer Days festival (August 18-20) in Foster City. I did reserve a space with the City last month but eventually sent our regrets.

Our usual volunteers were on vacation, and the energy from 2022's re-opening had dissipated, not just for us but for the community as a whole. There were fewer booths, both business and non-profits, than 2022.

Foot traffic wasn't overly heavy on Saturday afternoon.

There were decent lines at the food trucks, the rides, and other attractions.

Organizers thoughtfully set up tables, chairs, and tents for diners and fair-goers who just wanted to sit in the shade. The festival was kid and elderly friendly, which would have gone without saying 20 years ago but is now a rare sight in the Bay Area.

For a glimpse of gatherings as they used to be, see the photo (right) from three years ago, February 8, 2020, at the Punahou Carnival in Honolulu just before everything was locked down. Sometimes things really were better in the old days.

Now the Hard Part

The fun part

The Foster City Summer Days festival concluded last night. We spent a couple of hours taking down everything and hauling the materials back to the church. Now comes the hardest part of any project: the cleaning up.

No, it's not the degree of difficulty; building the project probably involved more hours, required creativity, working with others happily (sometimes), and maybe included some fun.

After the main event is over, reports have to be written, procedures documented, expenses tabulated, and items returned to storage or their rightful owners.

The aftermath is hard because it means detail, duty, and drudgery, coupled with the (lack of) motivation to see it through.

Casualty of fun: paint spilled
on the sign overnight.

And when it's all over, when everything is put away, the bosses give you your just reward:

"You did such a great job. Let's do it again next year!"

Summer Days

Police and fire depts. are located behind the library (pictured).

It's not as lively as the summer days and summer nights of our youth, but the Foster City Summer Days festival had plenty of energy. The crowds were reminiscent of pre-COVID days.

After a two-year hiatus, suburban families were ready to mingle outdoors on a sunny afternoon.

(Foster City provides reassurance by patrolling the parking lots, rides, exhibits, food and drink areas.)

The new priest seemed popular with kids.

We signed up the local Episcopal church for one of the "community booths" reserved for non-profits and local government agencies. Staffing the church booth is light duty. Normally one has to field a question every 15 minutes or so from curious passers-by.

The lady in charge of Sunday school had an idea: let's invite kids to spin a wheel and win a cookie, toy, potato chips, or some other prize. Spins were free; the smiles from that revelation alone warmed jaded hearts. We also attracted a lot more traffic.

The new priest showed up to introduce himself. The parents and children who stopped by seemed to like him. Whether starting anew or starting over, hope was in the air.