This post was written as part of a collaboration with Farmland Foods; however, all opinions shared here are those of the contributor who wrote them.
It was a day of awesome. And a lot of sunscreen.
When we parked our minivan in a West Bottoms parking lot and then spent the next 20 minutes packing our double stroller with water bottles, sunscreen, and burp cloths, you’d probably have guessed we were headed to the zoo. But, nope. We were off to Boulevardia, the insanely popular urban street festival focused on beer and sustainability.
The first highlight was when the parking attendant handed us our $10 back and suggested we spend it on beer as she eyed our three young kids in tow. I have to admit, I was a little nervous (and feeling a bit old) walking across the West Bottoms toward the festival. Navigating a stroller through a crowd is on my “least favorite activity” list.
But what we found was an amazingly friendly festival with lots of options for families like us.
We headed to the Children’s Activities area marked by the Ferris Wheel. With a focus on educating about sustainability, there were plenty of activities centered around recycled junk. My boys loved the mobile drum unit (“get a stick, drum on junk”) as well as the opportunity to plant a potato (though they most definitely won’t eat their harvest). We even joined a STOMP-like drum line formed on the street.
One of our favorite vendor areas, though, was the Farmland tent. First on the main stage, we witnessed all the bacon consumed during the bacon-eating contest. We sampled some amazing sausage ourselves at the Farmland tent and may have gone back for seconds … I mean, thirds …
We joined the Farmland Bacon Club and got Dad’s new favorite shirt, the perfect addition to his Father’s Day gifts! I can’t say the Farmland paper fans did much for the 95 degree heat, but the kids sure loved them.
While we enjoyed the music, a beer for mom and dad, swag for the kids and of course, the food, we loved the friendliness of the festival staff, vendors and other guests. Noting the heat, staff brought cold waters for our sweaty children and even granola bars for a special treat. We had other guests ask questions of our boys and remind us that someday, we’ll sleep again. Or perhaps that was the Ginger Lemon Radler talking.
I didn’t expect that taking my babies to what I thought was just another beer festival would end up being the highlight of our weekend. But it was!
