File Under: WTF?

This was a quasi-historic weekend in the 'Ville.  It was the 50th annual St. James Court Art Show.  For those who might not be that hip on our local fairs and festivals, St. James Court (as referred to by the locals) is a a fine arts and crafts show that is held on the first weekend in October.  It's held at (are you ready for this?) St. James Court in Old Louisville.  This area in Old Louisville boasts one of the largest collections of Victorian homes in the country.  That's pretty impressive in and of itself, I think.  The St. James Court show is ranked as one of the top art shows/festivals in the country.  Even though it's billed as a "fine arts" and "fine crafts" show, you can still find a few booths selling the very popular wooden pumpkin or Santa yard sticks. 

All that having been said, it's a major pain  to attempt to drive anywhere remotely close to Old Louisville on the first weekend in October.  Needless to say, our church is just a couple of blocks away from the arts fair.  Each year, we have to put up a sign by the parking lot saying that there is no parking until after the church service is over or else our parking lot would be full before Sunday School started.  This Sunday before church started, I went outside to pay our off-duty officer and I saw a steady stream of St. James people walking down Fourth Street towards the fair.  My curiosity got the better of me, and I asked one group where they had to park.  They said "Almost at Broadway." I wanted to shriek "WTF?" but I just smiled and told them to have a nice afternoon.  It just makes no sense to me why people will go and not blink over spending major bucks on artwork yet they will walk a mile just so they can park for free.  Like they can't afford the $5 or $10 for a parking space within a block or two from the fair?  They have no qualms over spending $350 for a handmade clay pot, yet they're too tight to pay $10 to a school to park in their lost just two blocks from the art fair. 

I, for one, have only been to the St. James Art Show one time in my life - that was about 15 years ago, when Mom, a friend of hers and I went.  At the time, Mom and Dad were the custodians at our church, and they had told her we could park there (it was a Saturday).  That one time was enough for us to knowthat we were way out of our league. But should I decide to go again, I would pay whatever it cost to get a parking spot within a block of the show.  I've said this before and I'll say it again: the older I get, the more I'm willing to pay for convenience.