We sent writer Jodie Ashdown along to Chapter’s Art Car Bootique to brave the rain and enjoy the arts on offer this year. Were you there?

On Sunday, 25 May, was held the visual, olfactory, gustatory and auditory feast that is the Art Car Bootique. Held in the car park of Chapter Arts Centre in Canton, the bootique is a day for the entertainers, musicians, food stall holders, artists, trinket creators, jewellery makers and illustrious illustrators of Cardiff to show us their mettle.

Described as a ‘psychedelic village fete’, the event is perfect for the whole family – children’s entertainers absorb and delight the little ones, along with kid’s tables and activities, while the slightly older folk can sneak off for a meander into the selection of German beer and other such sparkle-inducing beverages.

You can make your perfect partner through the medium of sock puppet, sing your heart out in the ‘car-e-oke’, make bubbles on a bike, create music with a flyer, knock Putin off his shy, pick up a lovely illustration of boobies, have a song sung about you, tuck into tapas, snag yourself a vintage bargain and become a photo booth star – all in an afternoon’s work.

With food, music and drinks into the evening, the bootique did its very best to stand in the face of the downpours and cloudy skies and say, ‘Screw you rain, we’re Welsh, we don’t need sunshine to have a good time’ and laughed raucously. Manically, perhaps.

It’s a bloody good day out and highly recommended. Get yourself there next year!

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Thanks Jodie! Were you at Chapter on Sunday? Did we see you there?? Until next time…