Aging Well

Free for All
The People's Fair continues to make memories.
SAT, 6/4

As a kid, I'd look forward to the Capitol Hill People's Fair at Civic Center Park because it sold toys that would amuse me for a week -- before I'd toss them into a drawer, only to rediscover them six months later.

I probably won't collect any playthings at the annual fair's 34th edition, which runs today and tomorrow. Still, the traditional gathering will prove that good things don't change, except for the need to purchase beer-concession tickets to supplement the omnipresent roast corn on the cob and barbecued turkey legs. The sunburn, as always, will be free.

Joining the expected quarter-million attendees, I might pet animals from the zoo, test the bungee trampoline or hang out by the face-painting booth. Maybe I'll watch parents let kids make their own mistakes with henna tattoos. After all these years, mine are barely visible.

It won't all be déjà vu, either. One intriguing addition this year is People Speak, an open forum located near the Vietnam Memorial in Veterans Park where anyone can voice an opinion for five minutes. Maybe I'll weigh in on Mayor Hickenlooper's cowlick.

Admission is free; for information, visit www.peoplesfair.com. -- Ben Hiller