Go Play In The Street....

Saturday, June 9th was this summer's first Car Free Day in downtown London.   For those of you not familiar with the Car Free Festival, it started in 2010, and is an outdoor festival with the purpose of  promoting the environment, health, culture, and community.  On select weekends throughout the summer, three blocks of Dundas Street are closed to traffic, and taken over by pedestrians, bicycles, games, musicians, and information booths.  The displays and activities were divided into three categories:  Health and Wellness, Arts and Culture, and Environment.  The Health and Wellness area had games for the kids, an outdoor Spin Class, and yoga classes and bellydance demonstrations.

You could participate in an oversize Scrabble game

and Chess

A new addition to the festival were signs that told you how long it would take to walk to various downtown locations

Bright colours and a big smile on this woman, who was manning (or wo-manning) the display from Hot Dog Musique and Cinema

More bright colours and a wonderful smile on this street performer

One of the "Environment" themed displays was from the Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre and featured a falcon named Shakar who was very calm despite the number of people who were crowded around him.  I learned that falcons can fly at speeds up to 200 miles (km?) per hour and have amazing eyesight.

Isn't he gorgeous?