Sunday’s Fiesta on the Hill was rather exceptionally fantabulous.
For 2014, Bernal’s traditional street fair on Cortland got a thoughtful makeover, with a strong emphasis on local character and creativity. The generic street fair vendors and beleaguered farm animals were gone, and in their place Fiesta 2014 gave our neighborhood fest a more homespun feel, with smiling goats, and historic surrealist Doggie Diner Heads, and happy parents steering happy children on mechanized ponies by remote control:
It was a Main Street USA celebration of 21st century urbanism, and the crowds on Cortland were bustling:
People looked like they were having a good time. There was even dancing in the streets. REPEAT: Confirmed dancing in the streets!
Truth be told, however, your Bernalwood editor was unable to make his usual quasi-journalistic rounds at Fiesta on the Hill, because as part of this new 2014 emphasis on local flavor, I was recruited to babysit the two mutant race cars operated by the Bernal Dads Race Team.
So for most of the day, I was parked on Cortland, right in front of Andi’s Market.
Playing chaperone for America’s Most Badass Volvo Station Wagon and a Alfa Romeo disguised as a cookie was a hindrance to my wanderings. But it turned out to be a great way to meet a lot of awesome Bernal neighbors.
In particular, it was fun to watch Bernalese of all ages as they sat in the Volvo and visualized the adrenalin-fueled excitement of driving the car in wheel-to-wheel combat on a race track.
Here are some of the dashing future racers I met:
Thanks to everyone who made Fiesta on the Hill 2014 so much fun. Bravo, stay sexy, and can’t wait until 2015.
PHOTOS: Telstar Logistics
Bernalwood 
The Fiesta was terrific this year! Thanks to the organizers for making some very effective changes. Having the booths along the sidewalk made it so much easier to navigate. I’m sorry I missed the grazing goats and glad the petting zoo was eliminated. And it was nice to chat with you, Todd. Thanks for making Bernalwood such a nice place to “live.”
The goats were OK, but the mechanical ponies got a big, fat “hell no” from Bernal’s Littlest Curmudgeon.
Even the unicorn??! I wanted to ride that thing. 😉
We paid our five bucks and she just sat there in my arms, sucking her thumb, looking askance at the unicorn as if to say, “You’re sh*tting me, right?”
But, it looks like other people had fun with the mechanical ponies, so maybe we’ll just seek our pony bliss elsewhere. 🙂
Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday! And thanks to Todd for babysitting your cars! I was one half of the event production team and a Bernalian, so making this special and local were high on the list. I hope we succeeded and I welcome any and all comments. If you want to send something longer, please e-mail us at fiesta@bhnc.org.
Thanks, Todd, for representing Bernal Dads and sharing the “Lemons” which are pretty spectacular! Thanks, also, to the Fiesta sponsors and organizers for making this year’s event more about “community” than “commercial”!
It was our pleasure Ellen! Community first!
This was our first Fiesta, and it far exceeded our expectations–even our 15 year old son (who is at peak everything-is-stupid-sigh) had fun. The electric ponies are amazing! What a genius idea. I hope the–and the lentil soup from the Indian food truck–are invited back next year.
Glad you liked the ponies! We’re glad your son enjoyed too–teens are hard to impress 🙂
The only thing I would change: move the smelly seafood food truck away from the stage! Not saying it has to go. Just keep it away from a place where people want to hang out. The new layout was a good idea. The kids and I liked the goats, electric ponies and the cars.
Thank you to everyone who was involved.
Roger that @clumsy! It was our pleasure to make this a great day for all.
it was a fantastic fiesta! really enjoyed the local flavor. I think we should close off Cortland to cars on Halloween too, it would make it much more enjoyable and safer!
Thanks @bernal walker! Glad you noticed the local flavor. As a Bernal local I agree with you on that part about Halloween. The sidewalks are so packed and pedestrian safety is a big deal! Thanks again for supporting Fiesta.
Wow, so that was you, my favorite reporter, the bernalwood town cried, sitting in that toothy car.. Cool Tod, nice to meet you.
And yes, it was a wonderful fiesta.. thanks to all.
From Aliwood
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