The dog and pony show is coming to Old South Gaylord. Literally. The 27th annual Memorial Day street festival is coming next weekend, with everything from pony rides and dog washes to the expected parade of food and craft vendors. Since my Memorial Day weekend plans include nothing more exciting than cleaning out our storage unit (major yuck), I’ll be heading over to check it out.

As part of last weekend’s wanderings, I headed over to the quaint little two-block shopping district on the east side of the Wash Park neighborhood. After dropping by Dino’s soda shop — kid central in the summertime, by the way, so bring the little guys — I noticed one thing that made my heart drop, and then race immediately afterward. Iris Fields, the darling clothing store across from the Washington Park Grill, is closing up shop. Which naturally makes me very sad; the mix of funky independent designers and trendy labels made it a great place to find an occassion dress, a killer pair of heels, or an unusual pendant or bracelet. But almost as quickly as the sadness hit, I realized that a closing sale is something that one may as well embrace. We’re talking 75 percent off shoes, ladies. I just can’t stay depressed around a shoe sale.

But here’s a good bit of advice: if you’re planning to drop by the store to check out the sale items, I wouldn’t wait for the festival. I’d take a long lunch, enjoy the summery day, and get to Gaylord before the masses clear it out next weekend.