Upcoming Beaux Arts Festival

 I've always really enjoyed outdoor arts festivals, and Miami has great ones. When I was an undergraduate at UM, they started holding one on campus -- the Beaux Arts Festival. They set up booths and a few food stands around the Lowe Arts Museum, and it was always a convenient cheap date for those of us living on campus.

Through the years, Wifey and I would always attend. We'd bring the Ds, in strollers and later on foot, and in recent years it became a lovely place to bring our many dogs as well.

I confess I'm not much into art, but over the years we bought a few pieces -- nothing expensive -- just old Miami framed photos, and a few pieces of ceramics, or yard decorations.

But there was the food. Ah. Over the decades the offerings included gourmet trucks. George Mira, the former great Hurricane quarterback, always set up his signature conch truck -- with fritters and salad. There were always delicious gyros, and kettle corn, and ice cream.

Over recent years, we'd visit with Ken and Joelle -- they'd buy pieces for their homes in Miami and Maine. A few years back, Paul and Patricia also came, and the six of us ended up having lunch on the Law School patio --away from the crowds who didn't know it was a great place with open tables. Paul lightly interrogated Kenny and Joelle about their work against child abuse offenders. I remember the conversation well.

Wifey and I also always attended the Coconut Grove Arts Festival -- well, until recent years. As Yogi Berra said -- it's too crowded now -- nobody goes there. But over the years we had some lovely days strolling Bayshore Drive, and eating lunch at what's now Regatta Park, the playground for our granddog Betsy.

We're getting into Festival Season in Miami -- late January through March we have the best weather. There'd be festivals in Pinecrest Gardens, and South Miami. Ah -- lovely.

Well this am, I got an email from UM. Despite the plague -- they're going ahead with Beaux Arts. One thing though -- it's virtual.

That was a punch to my still ample belly. Virtual? What -- you get to look at art online? Who gives a hell about that? What about the food?????

Are they going to have high definition videos of the sizzling conch fritters? Gyros overflowing with meat and yogurt sauce? Show the kettle corn, and tell you to imagine its sweet fragrance?

Oh well -- another stark reminder that times still suck.

I understand this desire to try to keep things as normal as possible. Thankfully greedy college presidents somehow got in a football season. An Op-Ed in the Times claimed the REAL championship should go to UCONN -- the only program with the guts to cancel their season.

As for art and street fairs -- I'd rather they just let them go for the year, rather than waste any time on ersatz replacements. I guess the artists still need to try to sell their creations, but somehow having a virtual Beaux Arts Festival mocks me. To the core of my appetite.