Yesterday was a beautiful Sunday, with the weather absolutely perfect. I had breakfast and coffee at the Plantation Coffee shop and most of the people were talking about doing something outside. It was definitely not a day to stay indoors.
Luckily I had plans to attend the Scottsdale Art Festival in Old Town Scottsdale. The festival is over 30 years old, and hundreds of artists from around the country were going to be there. I parked easily enough in the Arts District. The Arts District contains numerous blocks of art galleries in Old Town, all near Main Street. To the east of Scottsdale Ave. on Main Street, near the city offices and the Performing Arts Center, the festival was underway.
The corner of Main Street and Scottsdale Ave. in the heart of Old Town.
The Ancient Arts Gallery in the Arts District. Very cool statues out front.
Looking east on Main Street, the Arts District. Both sides of the street are lined with fine art galleries.
I saw this bronze sculpture in a display window. God bless America. 
As you walked toward the Festival in the city plaza, you could window shop for fine art. Many of the galleries were open, though most were closed since it was a Sunday. I don't know why an art gallery would be closed during the Festival, even on a Sunday. 
The plaza near the Scottsdale City Offices.
I entered the Arts Festival here, and paid my $7 for a ticket. 
The Festival had two live performance stages. This one was near the Food Court, so many were eating lunch and listening to the live bands.
This particular group was playing music from around the world using all kinds of weird instruments from Greece, Egypt, and the Middle East. 
After I took the above shot, I had to go the Men's Room for some relief. I asked a security guard for directions to the nearest bathroom and she told me the Performing Arts Center was the best place. So I walked there in a semi-rush, if you get my meaning.
As luck would have it, the Men's Room inside the Performing Arts Center was hard to access due to a live performance of "Audio Ballerinas" which had just begun when I arrived.
If you'll notice, the Men's Room is to the right of the small tree, in the above photo. The performers of this "artistic performance" by four cute girls were in mid-stride making there way through the foyer toward the exit doors leading outside. I asked the guy next to me, "How can we go to the bathroom when it's center stage in some act?" He laughed, and cringed, because we both had to "go".
To be honest, the performance was really cool. An artist (can't remember his name) came up with this artistic "dance" where four girls slowly walk a path from upstairs, then through the foyer, then outside into the crowd. The girls were wearing a contraption around their waist that produced a weird king of monotone music, like something you would hear from the soundtrack of the movie "Blade Runners". They each had a rake on their shoulder, too.
Once they cleared the Men's Room, I finally made it inside. Since the girls were walking very, very slowly, one step at a time, in rhythm to the music, I returned just in time to see them continue their "dance" outside. They dropped their rakes on the concrete, and began to drag them in rhythm. I noticed that the rake was actually wired to their waist, and producing a very loud "screeching" sound as they dragged it along the sidewalk.
Notice the wires running from the rake, the speakers around the waist. 
Once outside, they continued their slow pace into the crowd. Watching the reactions of the people to the strange performance and music was entertaining. Some laughed, some were in awe, some covered their ears. I was just thinking, "This is really cool." Each performer was in perfect unison with the others, each had no expression on their face.
When I left the Festival, I visited some of the "tourist" shops along the way back to the Arts District. 
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