On Saturday morning I went to the clocktower area to check out the kids activities during the three-day Sounds & Sights Festival. But before we get to those photos, let’s talk about signs. Specifically, signs with very clear and very important messages. Signs like this:

The text on the sign doesn’t seem ambiguous:

STOP
IT IS UNLAWFUL TO
CROSS THE RR TRACKS
CROSS AT MAIN ST.
OR MCKINLEY ST. ONLY

As I’m sure you can see, there are two kids happily crossing the tracks in full view of that sign. Actually, they were in full view of at least two of the signs. They also weren’t the only people who crossed the tracks there in the ten minutes I was watching that spot.

Why the signs, you may ask? Well, it seems the Chelsea police have been advised by the railroad of problems with people crossing the tracks outside legal crossings, so they posted the signs in preparation for strict enforcement of existing laws. In other words, it’s going to cost you if you get caught on the tracks. Is it really so hard to walk a minute or two to the nearest crossing? No. No it isn’t. Please be sensible.

If you need further encouragement, here’s a hilariously instructive train safety video. It’s written for a larger city setting, but the idea works anywhere.

Okay, back to the pictures. New to the kids zone this year was an outdoor bowling lane courtesy of Chelsea Lanes.

Mad Science was doing a show nearby.

There was an ambulance for kids to explore, too.

It was all going so well…until the clouds opened up and drenched everything in sight.

The ever-popular Chelsea House Orchestra was on the library lawn.

Up by Zou Zou’s there were hula hoops for the general public’s enjoyment.

Bulletproof Snow was at the clocktower gazebo.

The drummer’s hair was just about as photogenic as it gets.

The drummer also had the perfect reaction when he noticed I was pointing a camera at him.

The sun was setting behind the band, and at one point I made the mistake of shooting at the wrong angle. The result was a photo that looked a little bit like it had been mangled by one of those insufferable Instagram filters.

My hope is that if you’re an Instagram user, from now on you’ll mentally replace every filter name with “Oops.”

It wasn’t hot like last week, but kids were still enjoying the fountain.

The Nomads were at the Glazier Building.

The Shelter Dogs were at the Sylvan Courtyard.

The drummer looked mild-mannered…

…and then he started yelling and hitting stuff. (Oh relax. He was hitting stuff with his drumsticks. That’s what drummers do.)

It was fun.

See? The band thought it was fun, too.

Before long he went back to regular drumming and singing.

The Appleseed Collective was on Middle.

Poppet was wandering around downtown dancing. When I encountered her, she had a couple copycats.

Sounds & Sights will continue in downtown Chelsea this Thursday from 6:30pm-8:30pm. There are only three left this summer, so come on down and check it out!

During last week’s Sounds & Sights there was face painting in the clocktower courtyard. I stopped by in time to watch one youngster get his face painted.

When the process was complete, he got to see his face in a mirror. I think he was happy.

Sounds & Sights continued with a pretty good crowd despite the heat and humidity. Seven Bridges was on the library lawn.

The Whiskey Charmers were on East Middle.

Bill Grogan’s Goat was at the Sylvan Courtyard. No, it wasn’t an actual goat — it was a band. But they did have a goat of sorts:

They also had regular human band members.

David C. Bloom & Friends were at the clocktower gazebo. This is NOT David C. Bloom:

This is NOT David C. Bloom:

This IS David C. Bloom!

Down in the clocktower courtyard, this young boy was using the fountain to beat the heat.

The Bob Skon Trio was at the Glazier Building.

From Grace was by the courthouse.

The Sounds & Sights Festival is this weekend. In addition to the usual Thursday night entertainment, there will be other events through Saturday evening, including music in the social tent, an art market, and a car show. The full schedule is here.

(There are a few more photos from Thursday, but I think they deserve their own post, so look for those tomorrow.)

After a break for Independence Day (the actual day, not the movie), Sounds & Sights came back just in time for last Thursday’s gorgeous summer weather. The comedy on the library lawn wrapped up at the end of June, but the library lawn didn’t go quiet: there will be music at that spot each week. This week was one of my favorites: Annie and Rod Capps, accompanied by the fantastic Jason Dennie.

This is Jason. He’s looking at you.

Half his face is unusually radiant because it was a sunny day, the last place I’d taken pictures was relatively dark, and he spontaneously posed for that picture before I’d adjusted the settings on my camera. Here’s how he looks when he’s not giving off an unearthly glow.

Here are Annie and Rod.

One of the younger audience members was in the mood to chew on a Slinky.

When she finished that task, she decided the Capps’ music was good for dancing.

Last Exit was by the courthouse.

The Sarah Swanson Band was a block down the street.

Mike Vial was in the alley.

The alley can be a challenging place to get photos. The sidewalk by the alley is narrow, and since it’s in the middle of downtown, there’s a lot of foot traffic through that area during Sounds & Sights. That means you can be taking pictures of the singer in the alley without a care in the world…

…and then it all starts to go south (which is odd because the pedestrian was headed north)…

…and you find yourself taking an entirely different photo.

Hello, side of someone’s face. It’s nice to meet you.

Despite my trials and tribulations, Mike kept singing like nothing happened.

Back at the library, Annie and Rod Capps and Jason Dennie were still performing. One member of the audience was sporting an unusual hat.

More young audience members decided the Capps’ music was good for dancing.

Sounds & Sights will continue in downtown Chelsea this Thursday from 6:30-8:30pm.

Despite a downpour just before 6:30, Sounds & Sights went on as planned. The rain cleared quickly, but the library decided to move the comedy indoors just in case. This week’s comedy showcase was the last of the summer — it’ll be music on the library lawn the rest of the summer.

As always, it started with Kevin Kramis.

This gentleman found Kevin to be highly amusing.

I wish I had audio to go with this next photo. This was a funny joke.

Mark Sweetman was next.

The crowd enjoyed his comedy.

Mike Bobbitt was the headliner. When I took a photo he stopped and told me to take another one when he wasn’t looking down. This is how he posed:

I hope that’s satisfactory, Mike.

Seven Bridges was performing in front of the courthouse.

Blue Seven was down the street.

Sounds & Sights took the week off for Independence Day, but it’s back on this Thursday at 6:30pm.