The World Beat Festival

This is me dancing the Toshi Toshi at the World Beat. I have no idea how that is actually spelled, but the Toshi Toshi is a Bhutanese guest dance where everyone dances in a big circle. Its simple to learn and it was great fun to see how many people participated.

I must say I was really impressed with the number of performances throughout the day. And the quality! I had no idea we had so much international talent around here. One of my favorite groups was the dance troupe called Paradise of Samoa. They have found a great way to keep young people interested in their island heritage. The dancers ranged from little ones who were probably about kindergarten age, all the way to adults. Not only was it fun to watch them dance dances from around the pacific islands, but it also looked like they had a lot of fun doing it.

The music choices were also quite good and there were concerts in the amphitheater throughout the day and into the evening, including fire dancing at the end of the night. The amphitheater was a popular spot at the festival and I would say there were at least two to three thousand people in the amphitheater during the last couple of performances.

Now, this makes me wonder: why don't we have concerts at the Riverfront Amphitheater throughout the summer? Its a beautiful location for an outdoor amphitheater - on the river with views of the setting sun. Why aren't we, as Salemites, taking advantage of this? I think its about time to use that amphitheater for a summer concert series. What say you, people of Salem?


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mt. Angel Oktoberfest - Chicken Dance Anyone?

I can't wait for the Oktoberfest this weekend in Mt. Angel. For one, I love Mt. Angel. For two, I love chicken dancing. :) And for three, I love to wander around looking at booths and drooling over delicious dining out of small trailer-like kitchens. It's just a wonderfully campy adventure to the music of accordians and the smells of sausage and kraut.

Oh, plus the drinking. That's fun too, if you're in the mood for a little partying beyong the standard chicken dance in the street by the gazebo pavilion. I think I might try the wine garden this year. I hear they have good music as well as good wine!

Oh, and the people watching at Oktoberfest is always superb. It was even better back in the day, before the ban on grocery stickers (which was really a good thing) when you could watch people coming out of the beer garden covered in the strangest places with stickers that said things like fresh meat or hot. They were banned to keep people from sticking them on building all over town as they left and leaving a mess for the locals. A few contraband stickers always get in anyway, but nothing like the grocery sticker heyday.

This year I am going to do the Oktoberfest 5K run/walk on Saturday morning that supports the local high school track and field team. It's my first one and I am really excited. I hope the rain holds off! Wish me luck. :)

Look What Happened at Summer in the City

I am not going to review Summer in the City in downtown Salem since it has been done much better here and here and here, by other illustrious Salem bloggers. I will only say that I personally decided not to pay the rather exorbinant fee for what I consider a very new and quite unknown festival, but I did stop outside the fences for a bite to eat. As I stopped to listen to a few minutes of Curtis Salgado's performance on Sunday evening, I ran into this man enjoying the music.

Notice he's outside the fence, but he had PLENTY of room to dance! :)

Summer In the City 2009

After heading out to The Bite this weekend, I started thinking about festivals in Salem. Summer in the City is just around the corner! I remember Summer in the City being all about the sidewalk sales when I was a kid. I don't even know if there was music or drinks, probably because I was too young to enjoy such things. I just remember making a day of the shopping with my mom and my sisters where we would buy all our back-to-school clothes.

But what I do know, is that last year Summer in the City was rejuvinated, and it was a hit! I love that fact that they close the streets down for this event and bring out the music and booze. :) This year there will be a cover charge to get into some areas of the event, but I think if you make a day of it, it would be well worth the cost.

Last year, the highlights for me were the Casey's Cafe grilling delicious burgers in their outdoor kitchen, the wine-tasting, the music, and running into old friends. I'm excited to see what this year holds!

When Dragon Boats Collide

The World Beat Festival turned out really well this year. The booths were interesting, the music was good, the dancing was beautiful, and the dragon boat races were very popular. Unfortunately, one of them tipped over. Personally, I thought watching them try to figure out what to do after it tipped, dumped them out, and filled with water was the most entertaining part of the show. I realize that just sounds mean and morbid, but it really was entertaining. They seemed to be in good spirits and nobody got hurt, so I don't feel too bad. After floundering around in the water for awhile, they decided to pull it up to the bank and empty it. Easier said than done, I'm sure, but they made it.

Struggling to get under the line towards shore

Almost there! You can see how much water is in the boat in this one. It was nearly full.