I began my Folk Festival Day at the St John’s Baptist Church soul food stand at the Dutton Street Dance Pavilion with a plate of barbecued ribs, rice and beans, green beans and corn bread which was excellent. The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around, visiting the various stages, trying to get a sense of the crowd and the “atmospherics” of this year’s Festival. One thing that was unavoidable was the heat – while standing at the intersection of Merrimack and John at 1 pm watching the amazing Yo Yo People perform, I broke into a 3-mile run kind of sweat while just standing still. But between icy limeades, some strategic shade and some sun-shielding clouds, the day was more than tolerable. The overall crowd was good when compared to past years – not record setting but very respectable. It seemed like the many downtown businesses that exuded out onto adjacent sidewalks all seemed to be doing a good amount of business. Following is a slide show of pictures I took while wandering around today: