By Becca Lemire

The first Pedestrian Sunday for 2010 (from May to October, visit http://www.pskensington.ca/ for more info) went off joyously, with the streets packed, people getting jiggy with it and everyone and everything in Toronto right there at your fingertips, taking up only a few small blocks. I went yesterday, May 30th, with a few objectives: to see my friend’s bands play, eat tasty food, take pictures and wander around….which is, something I am embarrassed to say I have hardly ever gone to, but always hear so much about. Eventually by around 6pm I checked of my to-dos and finished the day fanning myself with a piece of paper over a pint in the back room at Ronnie’s (patio seats, I wish…those are hard to come by). Here are my favorite things from the day, narrated with photos. See you next month!

1. The puppies! I love that this is the type of event that people bring their pets too. And for some reason there was a very high concentration of cute dogs and puppies this time. I pretty much was speaking in cute-puppy-language as Oprah calls it for half the day. Oh-ma-guh!
2. The music, the music, the music. All types, everywhere, blending in to each other. Rock and roll, jazz, Latin, Caribbean, full out traveling drum circles, didgeridoos, beautiful and powerfully loud.
3. It was really inspiring to see all the children experiencing the day. They are our future, and they’re more cultured than ever! It really makes it feel like a community, with whole families being there. Imagine how cool you are going to be if you grow up at Pedestrian Sundays. Just saying.
4. The plethora of non-wallet-busting fresh snacks every 10 steps. So many different cultural tasty experiences, all right there in front of you, for under $5. Personally, my version of paradisio. I tried a chicken empanada, classic British deep fried shrimp skewers, fish and pepper kabobs, a nice helping of fresh fruit, fresh watermelon slurpee, cheese croissant, melon Popsicle and Thai spring roll. Think I’m going to walk home…
5. The art and creative expression! If you have the craving to dance in circles for hours on a Sunday, I’m glad you feel comfortable doing it here. It helps to take the edge off the long work week after all. Open galleries, mini-yard sales, hula-hooping, teaching Capoeira to children, bubble blowing, face painting, rickshaw riding, belly dancing, harp playing, bands powered by bicycles; it was a very artsy affair.