Most of the summer's outdoor festivals cater to mainstream crowds. That's not a problem, but it does imply that artsy, alternative types who like neither vendor booths nor jam bands want to stay inside. Not so, we say. Hundreds of pale Kansas Citians whose good taste had kept them cooped up in smoky bars all spring broke out the sunblock and gathered around West 18th Street on the hot evening of June 6. After a performance by Shari Elf and her All-Star Seamstress Band, a group of teen-agers began break dancing with a level of skill we hadn't seen since the 1980s. Then Isabel's Fashion Spectacle kicked off when a little girl wearing sheer fabric wings danced unself-consciously across the stage. The T.J. Dovebelly Ensemble played jazzy tunes as models strutted wares made by local fiber artists. Two particularly spunky models wearing patchwork outfits did a very unladylike dance as one of them, who pointed her index fingers at the crowd as though her hands were pistols, let a sign that said "Fuck War" dangle from her wrist. One model wore a dress made out of a Twister mat; others wore dresses with beautiful illustrations sewn on the front of them. Even more exciting than the clothes was the fact that so many people got together downtown without being lured by corporate sponsorship or gimmicky banners.
