dragon boat fest pics
Jul. 28th, 2008 12:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amredthelectorPer request, I took photos at the Dragon Boat Racing Fest I went to on Saturday. I only had my phone as a camera, so that's why the pics are tiny and blurry.
Here's one of the boats at the dock of the lake this went on at. My phone can't take photos of anything far away, so I couldn't get the boats in action.
The boats are traditional chinese dragon boats, very long and narrow, with an ornate dragon head on the front. There is a large team that consists of the rowers, who power the boat, a catcher, who sits at the very front and leans out to catch a colored flag that ends the race, and a drummer, who sits in the back, wears a funny hat (it's the local tradition) and beats out the rhythm of the rowers.
One of the big things in the morning of the first day of the race is the Eye Dotting Ceremony. This dragon starts the procession.
It was followed up by two lines of Buddhist monks and nuns in black, who were all praying. At the end of the line were two monks in saffron robes, one blessing the people watching. They got down to the docks and dotted the eyes of the boats with just a bit of black paint, then continued chanting. I didn't take any photos, because I felt it would be rude to interrupt such an amazing ceremony.
Here's a picture of the front of the dragon that lead the ceremony.
The fest is really big and well known in the city, celebrated as the best representation of Pacific culture. It includes Chinese and Japanese martial artists, Hula dancers, Philippine musicians, and Buddhists monks. It's very cultural and a lot of fun, unlike our Cherry Blossom fest which has, in recent years, just become a gathering place for Otaku that can't afford Cons. But this year they had something new at the Boat Fest - Aztec dancers. It was inevitable, since the city has a lot of hispanics, but still pretty surprising.
This is my favorite part of the fest - the food booths. Right next to the beer garden. Delicious Thai, Mongolian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hawaiian....
And this is the infamous X! He showed up about an hour and a half after I did, and we wandered the booths and got food and swag.
His big purchase was a tai chi straight sword. Mine was one of those pointy woven bamboo hats. That hat turned out to be a smart choice, because right after I bought it, it got really warm and sunny, and the hat gives a LOT of shade.
Well, there you guys go. I was doing volunteer work at a school today, so I don't have any art. But I'm finally working on the third of those pokemon team pics, so that should be up soon or later.
Here's one of the boats at the dock of the lake this went on at. My phone can't take photos of anything far away, so I couldn't get the boats in action.
The boats are traditional chinese dragon boats, very long and narrow, with an ornate dragon head on the front. There is a large team that consists of the rowers, who power the boat, a catcher, who sits at the very front and leans out to catch a colored flag that ends the race, and a drummer, who sits in the back, wears a funny hat (it's the local tradition) and beats out the rhythm of the rowers.
One of the big things in the morning of the first day of the race is the Eye Dotting Ceremony. This dragon starts the procession.
It was followed up by two lines of Buddhist monks and nuns in black, who were all praying. At the end of the line were two monks in saffron robes, one blessing the people watching. They got down to the docks and dotted the eyes of the boats with just a bit of black paint, then continued chanting. I didn't take any photos, because I felt it would be rude to interrupt such an amazing ceremony.
Here's a picture of the front of the dragon that lead the ceremony.
The fest is really big and well known in the city, celebrated as the best representation of Pacific culture. It includes Chinese and Japanese martial artists, Hula dancers, Philippine musicians, and Buddhists monks. It's very cultural and a lot of fun, unlike our Cherry Blossom fest which has, in recent years, just become a gathering place for Otaku that can't afford Cons. But this year they had something new at the Boat Fest - Aztec dancers. It was inevitable, since the city has a lot of hispanics, but still pretty surprising.
This is my favorite part of the fest - the food booths. Right next to the beer garden. Delicious Thai, Mongolian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hawaiian....
And this is the infamous X! He showed up about an hour and a half after I did, and we wandered the booths and got food and swag.
His big purchase was a tai chi straight sword. Mine was one of those pointy woven bamboo hats. That hat turned out to be a smart choice, because right after I bought it, it got really warm and sunny, and the hat gives a LOT of shade.
Well, there you guys go. I was doing volunteer work at a school today, so I don't have any art. But I'm finally working on the third of those pokemon team pics, so that should be up soon or later.
