The Festival In The Street

Glowfair is the name of a street festival that takes place on several blocks of Bank Street for a couple of evenings each June. It is a mix of music, art, performance, and spectacle. I missed a lot of it this year, and so only documented it briefly on the two evenings as I was passing through. On the first evening there was a clear sky. Aerial acrobats belonging to a group called Aerial Antics were setting up. I've seen them before here, as well as at Buskerfest.

Large inflatable mushrooms, no doubt illuminated at night, were down the street.

The following evening it was raining as I passed through. Large canvases had been set up for street artists to work with. Many of them were well in progress at that point, with the artists using traditional paint and brush or spray paint.

There are educational aspects to all of this, including in regards to First Nations culture. This shelter was set up, along with items such as furs done in the traditional way.

I finish up with these musicians.

The Final Canvasses

Today I'm finishing off my series from Glowfair, starting with this finished canvas done by the participation of passersby. It ended up in the storefront window at Wallack's, which is in the background.

The artists were hard at work at their canvases through the two days. I continued to document their progress until the finished work was done.

In this case, the artist at right was posing with some passersby before his work. I had chatted with him briefly- his work was in effect a double exposure, incorporating a face into a cityscape and creating a dreamlike feel. 

The finished murals were outstanding, and fun to watch the creative process unfold.

Burlesque (Ooh La La!)

Capital Tease is a burlesque group here in the national capital, and they took part in Glowfair, putting on performances with just the right mix of fun and sexiness. In burlesque the emphasis is on the tease. The shows were more PG compared to what you might see indoors- there were, after all, kids around- but they were a kick to see. 

I caught two solo acts while here. The first goes by the stage name Randi Rouge. She had the audience under her spell while bellydancing.

And the second uses the creative moniker Koston Kreme. She was fun to watch, making creative use of a hoop.   

Here we have a couple of shots with the ladies together- and they were popular for posing with. During our Buskerfest this past weekend, a special event indoors mixes together buskers and burlesque. I wonder if Capital Tease was part of that event.

Aerial Antics At Glowfair

Aerial Antics is the name of a local group that participates in this off the ground gymnastics, involving suspended hoops, ropes, and cloth and creating a performance in mid air, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs. They can be described as vertical theatre. The members who were participating were mostly women, though there was at least one guy involved. I photographed them several times during Glowfair, and they were also part of this weekend's Buskerfest. I chatted with some of them in between shows, and they explained that their clothing and makeup are fluorescent, but the big factor is the UV lighting, which gives night shows a completely different feel. 

  You try doing this.

The girls and women walking around with the illuminated capes were quite in demand for photo ops throughout Glowfair.

As were these swings, glowing in the darkness.

For today I finish off with this shot.