Stopped in traffic on my way to work this morning, I watched a man wrestling an large, wheeled grill over a curb. Several people setting up tents ran over and helped get the BBQ behemoth onto the grass and headed in the direction of the Fourth Annual Aaron Douglas Art Fair, which starts today at 11 AM.

"Showcasing diverse and emerging artists, entertainment, children's activities and food," the fair, which is free and open to the public, has always operated from the Art Park at 12th & Lane here in Topeka. Topeka's a great arts town, but it's still growing. This is a perfect opportunity to show your support, get the kids out of the house, meet local artists and enjoy possibly one of the few remaining "perfect weather" days this year. 

The art fair runs until 5 PM and there's plenty of parking behind Dillon's and in the surrounding streets. PS—here's a quick Wikipedia bio about the fair's namesake, Aaron Douglas. He's a bigbigbigbig name in art history, and he was FROM TOPEKA! We've also got stuff you can check out about him, too:

Aaron Douglas: African-American Modernist (book), Aaron Douglas: Art, Race and the Harlem Renaissance (book), Two Centuries of Black American Art (book), Sunflower Journeys: Outside the Box (DVD), Voices from the Harlem Renaissance (book) and Harlem Renaissance (book).