We might have been crashing his party

This past weekend was Artsplosure. It is an outdoor art and music festival that the city closes down a few streets around Moore Square to accommodate.

Lovely was with us last weekend, and we all went down on Saturday to look for our favorite artists, hear some music and people watch. On Sunday, we went back with Papa and even took the pups. Everyone wanted to pet Princess and said how beautiful she was. Poor little Pupstar was sort of ignored, but she was probably alright with that. She was just hoping for a short enough kid with an unguarded ice cream cone.

For that weekend, the square is bustling with people from all over. Artists come in from all over the East Coast. Street performers from all over the country are there. Activities for children are sponsored by corporations and non-profits alike. This year, a giant canvas was painted by anyone who wanted to participate with help and guidance from a quickly emerging abstract painter who just happens to live here in our city.

As we sat on the ground watching a high school jazz band perform, a man with a transistor radio and nothing else came near us. There was a stack of folding chairs to the side of the stage, unused. The man took a chair from the stack, set it up, and sat down. The crowd was thin at this point. He turned on his radio while the band was playing, and as people turned to stare at him, he looked up as if he was just noticing that we were all there.

The man turned off his radio, got up, and started taking the rest of the chairs from the pile, one by one. He set them up into rows and starting ushering women and older men who were standing around to come and sit in the chairs. As the man showed a lady with a stroller to her seat, Guy turned to me and said, "What in the world is he doing?"

I answered, "This square is his home. He is entertaining."

In that moment, I felt a little more connected with everyone who lives here in this city, not just those of us who live in houses. This man was sharing his home with all of us last weekend, and he was a gracious host.