This post was written by Hatchet Reporter Siegfried Huffnagle.

The sounds of guitars and tubas and smells of fried dough were enough to keep drenched H Street NE Festival attendees in good spirits Saturday.

The annual festival filled ten blocks with over two-hundred booths and 10 stages, lining streets with local artists, restaurant stands, food trucks, small-scale fashion shows and performances from musicians to belly dancers.

More than fifty artists played throughout the day, spanning genres from bluegrass and rock to gospel. Performers, vendors and attendees persisted through a downpour of rain in the afternoon, prompting “H2O Street Festival” jokes from members of the Fantom Comics stand.

Though focused on local culture and art, the festival featured kiosks for Ford, ZipCar, Geico, T-Mobile and REI. Across stands for local art and trinket vendors, hundred-dollar paintings and photographs were common.

The annual festival is orchestrated by H Street Main Street, which was founded in 2002 to bring business growth across the now burgeoning H Street NE corridor.