Saturday and Sunday, the streets of Silver Lake were filled with hipsters, carnies, corn dogs, oversized stuffed animals, rides, and the sounds of ear-pleasing bands.  This year’s 30th annual Sunset Junction Street Festival recruited tens of thousands of Angelinos to brave the heat, impossible parking, and intense crowds with the mission of shoving their way into the front of one of the 5 music stages.  The must see acts were: Ghostland Observatory, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Big Daddy Kane, Sam Sparro, Mayer Hawthorne, Fishbone, Shiny Toy Guns Hybrid Digital, Ohio Players, The Whisperers, Bad Brains, and Lee Scratch Perry…just to name a few.

Stages were packed and if you didn’t map out who you wanted to see and get there early to stake your claim, you had to whip out your closet mortal kombat skills to make it anywhere near the front of any stage.  There were so many good bands on at the same time it was hard to decide where to be when.  I found myself with my map in hand running all over Sunset with the predicament of several bands all starting at the same time.  Saturday, I came home feeling like I’d been to battle after somehow pulling off the following:

8pm Sanborn Stage – Fishbone
8:30pm Hoover Stage – The Ohio Players
9pm Electro Stage – Shiny Toy Guns Hybrid Digital
9pm Bates Stage – Ghostland Observatory
9:30pm Bates Stage – Bad Brains

My plan of attack: catch half a set of each act or at least a few songs, map out my next destination, and power walk thru the crowd with my elbows out, taking no prisoners.  Sunday, I did it all over again and was thoroughly wiped out when I got home, but of course it was all worth it.

In addition to the music, the carnival portion of the fair offered hours of amusement.  There were games all over the street, my favorite being a giant slingshot where you had to try and get water balloons across to the other side and through certain holes.  They had the classics: pick up a rubber ducky and win a prize, throw a ping pong ball into a bowl and win a goldfish (I was way too good at that when I was little), pop a balloon with a dart and win a prize, throw the ball into the bucket, and the old-school shooting games.  Rides consisted of a Ferris wheel, Superslide, and a whole bunch of contraptions that a mere glance at would make you dizzy.

There were street performers playing guitar and drums with small crowds formed around them. Booths passed out free Wet ‘n Wild lubricant, samples of nutritional bars, and all kinds of goodies.  The food trucks were out in all their glory, serving up french fries, ice cream, and all kinds of tasty treats.  Corn dogs, candy apples with flair, vegan dishes, Jamaican food, Alaskan hot dogs, and funnel cakes seemed to be all the rage this year. Stores and bars were open late and taking full advantage of drunken clientele.  I popped into 4100 bar for a Fat Tire (or two) and ended the evening at Café Stella where I ordered a beer called ‘Blanche de something French’ that I couldn’t pronounce but I had to give it a whirl because it had a little bronze naked man statue on the tap.  I’d recommend it.

My favorite sight at the fair: The Reform School Free High Five Booth.  A young girl and a woman would offer high fives to those that walked by and every time they achieved one, they’d change the number on a “Now Serving #” sign.  They stood by the booth and scored a few actual high fives, as well as “air-fives” as I walked by.  A gentleman brought his dog over and it high fived the little girl.  They had a bottle of hand sanitizer sitting in the booth with them – can you blame them?

Words by Nicole Pajer.  Photos by Sidney Bensimon