We had a wonderful time at the Annual Okinawan Festival on Sunday. At first mom said she didn't need to go, but then changed her mind. She said that she's such a homebody that it might not be good for her brain. An outing, she felt might help to stimulate her mind.
Parking was VERY limited so Art dropped us off and while he went to find parking. It was still a bit of a walk to get there. We were surprised at how large a space the festival took.
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Since Art said he would probably be a while to find parking we stopped at a tent of fabulous Okinawan exhibits. The bonsai exhibit was incredible. Mom was fascinated!
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Please excuse the many photos I'll be posting of the bonsais because I had too many to choose from.
This is a bougainvillea which stood about 9 inches high.
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I've never seen a bonsai on a slanted slab of moss covered rock.
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I loved the shape of this tiny pine tree.
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The remarkable thing about this bonsai is that what looks like a rocky mountain is the trunk of the tree.
I couldn't decide on which photo to post so I'm doing both.
Parking was VERY limited so Art dropped us off and while he went to find parking. It was still a bit of a walk to get there. We were surprised at how large a space the festival took.
.jpg)
Since Art said he would probably be a while to find parking we stopped at a tent of fabulous Okinawan exhibits. The bonsai exhibit was incredible. Mom was fascinated!
.jpg)
Please excuse the many photos I'll be posting of the bonsais because I had too many to choose from.
This is a bougainvillea which stood about 9 inches high.
.jpg)
I've never seen a bonsai on a slanted slab of moss covered rock.
.jpg)
I loved the shape of this tiny pine tree.
.jpg)
The remarkable thing about this bonsai is that what looks like a rocky mountain is the trunk of the tree.
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| Photo taken by me |
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| Photo taken by Art |
This is an awesome Candlestick tree and it blew us away.
Those are real seed pods and they look exactly like the candles of olden times.
I used to think mom was on the shyer side, but no more. The ladies who manned this exhibit saw her interest and mom had a fabulous time talking to them about how her mother was an Ikenobo style Ikebana (flower arranging) teacher.
We watched a taiko (drum) performance.
This is Hawaii and you need to always keep hydrated. These very sweet fellows came and made sure mom had a drink. In fact, I stepped back and let her interact on her own with people who happily enjoyed talking with her. I could see what a good time she was having.
We did, of course stop at the orchid tent. Very tempting, I'm sure...
These lion dance performers were having their photos taken in front of Diamond Head.
Our friend, Rodney was there and he recommended we try the Pig's Feet Soup.
The yaki soba line was the longest and slowest moving at the festival.
Mom and I were really glad that we brought our umbrellas, not just to protect ourselves from the drizzle, but to shield us from the hot sun.
Okinawan andagi is my son-in-law's favorite dessert in Hawaii. We got some in his honor.
I hope he appreciates us thinking of him.
It's always more delicious when it's freshly deep fried.
Many people sat on blankets eating under trees.
However, many people also took their yummy meals home like we did. Then we took a long afternoon nap.
It was a lovely day.
Now that is a day I could have enjoyed. I absolutely adore bonsai trees. Those bean pods on the candlestick tree look like the bean pods from a catalpa tree. How great to see your mom having such a good time. Poor Art, not only had to park miles away and walk, he had to carry all the food back.
ReplyDeleteextra parking is at Kapiolani community college with shuttle bus service. The orchids reminded me of bobo birds. And yea, it's by far both the largest and oldest ethnic festival. Sept 2 also marks the end of the Pacific War. In 1995, President Clinton lead the parade for the 50th anniversary of the end of the Pacific war down Kalakaua Ave., the main drag in waikiki that ends at Kapiolani Park. The festival was not moved to another weekend that year even though parking would be impossible with the parade & festival combined, and as the veterans and Clinton marched into Kapiolani Park, they were greeted to the sounds of you know how loud the Okinawan music, the President had an andagi
ReplyDeleteIn those days, before he began watching his weight, I'll bet he had three of those andagi.
Deletein light of the obvious conflicting themes of the festival and the parade, Clinton was incredibly dipomatic but sincere and endeared himself to the festival like forever. It's a bit humorous way to end a parade, the soldiers might have thought they had lost the war, which they didn't, while the battle of Okinawa ended with a one in three casualty toll for the islanders who were fighting at that stage for a lost cause.
DeletePresident Clinton was scheduled to speak at night at the Waikiki Shell at Kapiolani Park and would be traveling down Ala Wai Blvd after the speech. A few days prior, I look out my lanai (balcony) and there was the presidential helicopter without the president on it flying a pre-route security survey. I bet they were taking pics of every apartment along the Ala Wai for review. That helicopter was like two stories tall. This was at eye level with my lanai about 50-feet away moving about 5mph.
Now THAT is just too cool!!!
DeleteWhat a great day! While I was moving, packing, cleaning and getting totally tired out, you and your mom were having a wonderful time for me! I love those trees, they are simply amazing. I saw some at the garden show in Seattle, they were for sale but incredibly expensive. I looked but didn't buy. :-)
ReplyDeleteI would have enjoyed the Okinawan festival, too. What a pleasant Sunday you all had.
ReplyDeleteI love looking at bonsai trees. When we were at the National Arboretum in Washington DC a couple of years back, they had a wonderful display of bonsai. I couldn't get enough of them. I'm glad you all had such a fun time and I enjoyed looking at all the photos.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful festival! I love the photos. It is all much different than ours. Wonderful cultural celebrations. I enjoyed it a great deal!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great day out. The bonsai trees are exquisite, so perfect and so tiny. They must take a lot of looking after. My mother did Ikebana too, though I can't remember which school, she took exams in it and became a teacher herself. She, together with a group of other ladies, won medals at the Chelsea Flower Show for several years.
ReplyDeleteI understand that raising bonsai is like raising children. You have to watch over them very carefully. I would not have the patience, unfortunately. However, I like to admire everybody else's.
DeleteKay what a fabulous festival, thanks so much for sharing. Those Bonsai trees are amazing!
ReplyDeletehow fun, wish we had such cultural offerings-although we did go to a farmers market in town...
ReplyDeleteOh what fun. It must be festival times as we went to one of ours yesterday. I must remember to follow your lead and bring an umbrella to these things in the future. Thanks for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteI never used to bring an umbrella, but now I really find it more comfortable.
DeleteThose bonsais are incredible. It must take years to create such wonderful trees. We saw some bonsai and ikebana in Vancouver, but I wasn't able to get pix of them. These are wonderful arts. Your mom looks so happy. You are very good to her.
ReplyDeleteWhat a life! Full of beauty and interesting things and togetherness.
ReplyDeleteYour mother's a hot ticket. There's no getting around it. It looks as if the festival might have been held in the park at Waikiki???
ReplyDeleteYes! Absolutely. It was at Kapiolani Park near the zoo in Waikiki.
DeleteLooks like relaxing fun. Your Mom is amazing. You lost me in your cultural education attempt. How does the pig's feet soup taste, and is it common to real Japanese cooking? I thought it was just a deep South "treat." DrumMajor
ReplyDeleteI think the pig's feet soup is an Okinawan dish.... I think. I didn't see it in Japan when we traveled there.
DeleteMust remember to go one of these years...never been to the Okinawan festival. I remember going to the Greek festival and Oktoberfest long long ago. Glad your mom enjoyed herself and your chronicle of her interests at the festival really shows how much you care.
ReplyDeleteL. from W.
You really should go, L. Mom was hesitant about going saying she doesn't know a whole lot about Okinawa, but once there she had a blast! We were surprised that the yakisoba was not what we expected. It was more like yaki udon. Maybe it was Okinawan yakisoba. The pig's feet soup was good, but I think I've liked the ox tail soup better.
Deleteyes, Anonymous, the Okinawan festival is by far the best ethnic festival. It's 2 days, while the others are only on Sat and maybe Sat night. There is non-stop entertainment. The different entertainers, troupes, even have their own individual tents. Plus it's always on the weekend with a Monday off so the Sunday event is not a have to work next day kinda thing.
DeleteI called Tom up to look at the bonsai trees. I does bonsai and was quite interested. And we had to look up that candlestick tree. Very odd.
ReplyDeleteI love your mother's smile when she is having a good time. Good for all of you!
Pine are the classic bonsai. Glad to see Mom having a nice time. Thanks for 'covering' the event as I didn't make it.
ReplyDeleteAloha from Honolulu,
my friend
Comfort Spiral
=^..^=
Def going next year!! Thanks for letting me live vicariously through u ! What a fun day.
ReplyDeleteShaka sherry
What? Can't believe you didn't try the "andadog" (a pronto pup using andagi batter; called "corn dogs" on the mainland, but instead of using the corn bread type of batter, this is a sweeter batter and WAY better). And if you missed out on the Okinawan shoyu pork (rafute), so sad. Our Kauai Okinawan Festival (held only every other year) is coming up next May (the 10th and 11th), so our dance practices will begin soon.
ReplyDeleteShoyu pork sounds great! We'll have to look for it next year. We have tried the andadog, but it looked too decadent for this year. We're trying to watch what we eat since I've been gaining some weight and still having to siiiighhhhh... watch my cholesterol and sugar (I'm pre-diabetic).
Delete