Chaldean Event, La Mesa

I was in the area and heard some melodious singing. I walked over to Harry Griffen Park, and I found this procession. Later on, I heard lots of Middle Eastern pop music, but I was unable to go back and see what the event was.

Photos of the 2011 Philippine Cultural Arts Festival

Putting up photos shouldn't take 6 months, but it's only recently that I looked up how to get them off my camera. It seems that near the end of his life, Steve pulled a Bill Gates and decided to make things incompatible. The once able iPhoto became a wreck, incapable of recognizing even the iPhone. My photos are here courtesy of a PC. Anyway, here are some sights from the festival, including two members of the Samahan Dance Company.

The Year of the Dragon begins.

I went to a religious, semi-private event that took place in Vietnamese, Mandarin and English. It was mentioned that dragons are significant because they fly, and are thus, closer to Heaven than the other animals that show up every year.

There was some Vietnamese music and dancing. The dancing was movements of slow waves that went in stops and starts. This was also a time when expensive silk outfits are worn.

At the end, people got to take an envelope from a money tree. It was a bare tree in a pot, with red envelopes clipped on. It symbolizes prosperity for the coming year. I had originally thought of taking one, but there were so many little kids that I didn't dare.

2012 Events

This post will get longer as the year goes on. It's a catalog of the events that were written about, both ahead of time and after the fact.

January

ICF 340 Sandwich Sale, El Cajon

Tet, Garden Grove

The Golden Dragon Parade, Los Angeles

February

The Pan-African Film Festival

March

Los Angeles County Irish Fair and Festival

San Diego St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival

May

The Long Beach Holland Festival

June

Camarillo Greek Festival

Write up of the ICF 340 Sandwich Sale

This one caught me by surprised. I was there, and they had the sale. They were out of their tomato and onion sauce, but my meatball sandwich was still fantastic. Unlike other places, you get a lot of meat, and the meatballs stay between the bread.

Write-up of the Philippine Cultural Arts Festival

This year's event is the 27th annual festival. It is being celebrated in honor of the founder, Dr. Lolita Carter, who passed away about a week ago.

The Samahan Dance Company just returned from a tour of Mindanao. Their trip included a visit to the autonomous region. While they were there, they learned about the area's traditional music and dance, which they are performing here. The festival continues today, and it's a rare opportunity to see Mindanao tradition in the US.

The only problem with this festival is one that afflicts many such events: Not enough food booths. This was a smaller festival with one booth. They need at least two. Have lunch early. I had two seafood dishes, whose names I don't remember.

Pictures are on the way. My computer stopped recognizing my camera, and it may take a while to sort things out.

Photos: The ICF 340 Sandwich Sale

This event is part of foodie paradise. It's not a secret, but it's hard to find. It's open to all, but the sale only lasts for a few hours. They make everything themselves, except for the sfogliatelle and the sodas. It's a great place for breakfast, even though it's all lunch food. I had a sausage sandwich with peppers. After that, it was time for dessert with sfogliatelle. It's some of the best food you can eat at 8:30 in the morning.

While anyone can have a sandwich today, the real cognoscenti have ordered ahead of time. I saw many of them, carrying away big bags of raw meatballs and sausage. Someday, I'll preorder.