The 2008 DC Counter Culture Festival,
Arlington, Virginia, January 19, 2008

(Originally written on January 20, 2008)

Last night was the big night--The DC Counter Culture Festival. Not only it's the third annual event but it's also among the last major events that was held at Dr. Dremo's Taphouse mainly because that place was scheduled to close down for good the following week. (It became the latest victim of the gentrification wave that has struck Arlington over the last few years.)

I barely reached the place in time for setting up. (I kept on making so many wrong turns getting to the place that it was unbelieveable.) The good news was that I didn't have to worry about hauling my portable tables this time because the place provided tables. Basically the venue had pool tables that were covered up with plastic and each vendor had half a pool table to display his/her wares. So I threw my tablecloth over my half the pool table and set up my stuff.

At one point I had a friend of mine from my church stop by my pool table half with his teenaged daughter and we were talking for a bit. I also ran into a woman who recognized me from last year's Artomatic and I remembered her as a fellow participating artist. I also managed to sell two of my Barbie fairy dolls, one of my leftover zines from last year's Artomatic event, and one of my new Shrinky Dinks photojewelry. It wasn't a bad night (especially considering that the vendor's fee was only $10) although I had done better elsewhere.

Well, anyway, I managed to take a few photos last night. (Click on any of the photos to see a larger version open in a new window.) Here is what my vendor space looked like when displayed on half a pool table.

Among the merchandise is my new addition to the product line--wearable jewelry made from my own photographs printed on Shrinky Dinks.

I brought my own chair from home only to discover that I sat quite low when I was next to the pool table. This photo is my own vantage point of my vending area when I sat down.

Since Dr. Dremo's was on the verge of closing down for good, I decided to take a bunch of photos of the place while I was setting up my vending area. Here are some shots of the inside and outside. You'll note the pretty funky decor of the place.

I was told by someone at the festival that the building that housed Dr. Dremo's was once an automotive dealership. This outside area on the lower level looked like an outdoor bar that was opened in the summer.

Here are some indoor bar shots.

For some strange reason one of the walls of the bar had this parnoramic view of the New York City skyline at night (even though the bar is located in Arlington, Virginia). It's obvious that this particular photo was taken before 9/11.

There was a local tattoo parlor that had an information table near my vending area. At one point, the tattoo parlor actually had a demonstration where one of the employees drew a tattoo on a guy's back.

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