Just Serve-- the Avenues Street Fair (9.14.25)

Dave's and my Church calling is as ward coordinators for the LDS "Just Serve" program.  "Just Serve" is a worldwide charitable initiative of the LDS church, organizing members throughout the world to volunteer. On September 14, 2024, Dave and I organized members of our ward (300 members) in joining with members of our LDS stake (2000 members) to set up and take down the annual Avenues Street Fair.  We have lived in the Avenues, near downtown Salt Lake City, since 1978.  The street fair draws attendees from all over the very diverse Avenues community, where "Harris" signs were much more numerous than "Trump" ones, even in the red state of Utah.

We were at work by 6:30 a.m., riding in the back of a pick-up truck, picking up folding chairs at the nearby LDS Church and setting them up along 4th Avenue, next to the stalls for the fair.

Dave and I went back, later in the day, to enjoy the fair with the thousands of other guests from our neighborhood.

We bought bottles of Thai curry, concocted by a Thai immigrant from Salt Lake City
and marketed by her Anglo friend.

The politicians were out to meet voters, just two months before the federal and state elections.  Michelle Quist was running for Utah attorney general and was introduced to us by our good friend, Susan Horne, one of Michelle's staunch supporters.

The fair was filled with music, streaming from between fair stalls and from concert stages.

We stopped to talk with a bagpiper, returning home after her performance.

It was hard to choose a treat, from among the sellers of roasted corn on the cob, Tibetan mo mo's, and shaved ice.  We settled on Mexican crullers, filled with hot and sticky caramel sauce!