Charles in Charge

via the Free Press, but relevant to all Montrose watchers, comes the introduction of the massive tome West Fest: Portrait of a Street Festival by Charles Tatum.

The book also serves as a calling to bring the festival back to its former glory. “I guess the thing I've noticed about West Fest since its incarnation as the Block Party is that it's not as wild as it was during the 90's when I went. No drag queens. Almost no guys walking around shirtless. No reptiles. What happened to all that?” The book can be previewed and bought online at www.blurb.com for $94.95. Although the asking price may seem steep, 95% of it goes in to the printing of the actual book, and increased support of the book could lead to wider release. Maybe another small way to support the community and pay tribute to the past? “It's kind of like this: imagine I've taken all these cool photos and put them in a photo album. I give you the photo album to leaf through and you say you really like it. Then I tell you that you can keep the album. That's what this book is; it's a kind of neighborhood photo album covering a very special event.”