Northwest Folklife Festival (Part One)
This weekend, Seattle once again hosted the Northwest Folk Life Festival. It's the largest free festival of its kind in the world.
Throngs of people siddled onto the Seattle Center grounds to enjoy the fun. There were loads of activities to participate in, if you were so inclined, and dozens upon dozens of opportunities to pull up a chair (if you brought on) or hunker down on the grass while you listened to music. The first "official" musical venue I sampled was the early afternoon event at the Mural Stage.
The music was Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco, such rousing good fun that people just had to dance. I think the group playing when I took this picture was the Folichon Cajun Band. To hear a sample of their toe-tapping, can't-help-dancin music, play the You-Tube piece below.
In the background, behind the stage, you can see a splash of color from the mural behind the Mural Stage. It's a mosaic mural installation by artist Paul Horiuchi (1906 - 1999) done for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
From there I meandered past a variety of crafts vendors and food purveyors, taking note of the Southern Kitchen booth that featured Southern and Cajun cooking. Since I'd just gorged on Cajun sounds, I knew when hunger got the best of me I'd have to come back there for something to eat. Not only was the jambalaya fabulous, Southern Kitchen is only a 20 minute drive from my house the next time I'm in the mood for Cajun food and not in the mood to cook.
The next stop was a dance venue. When I arrived the first time in the early afternoon, I found a caller calling the steps for square dancing
and signs advertising weekly Contra Dancing in Seattle. Who knew? Sounds to me like a fun way to get some exercise!
Later that same afternoon, I circled back to see what was going on and found couples dancing to Cajun music.
After a yummy lunch and a big glass of iced strawberry lemonade, I kept on going. Thank god for sensible shoes!
So I won't overwhelm you -- I was there about 8 hours and took about 400 photographs -- I think I'll make this Northwest Folklife Festival (Part One) and keep you entertained in future posts.
Throngs of people siddled onto the Seattle Center grounds to enjoy the fun. There were loads of activities to participate in, if you were so inclined, and dozens upon dozens of opportunities to pull up a chair (if you brought on) or hunker down on the grass while you listened to music. The first "official" musical venue I sampled was the early afternoon event at the Mural Stage.
The music was Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco, such rousing good fun that people just had to dance. I think the group playing when I took this picture was the Folichon Cajun Band. To hear a sample of their toe-tapping, can't-help-dancin music, play the You-Tube piece below.
In the background, behind the stage, you can see a splash of color from the mural behind the Mural Stage. It's a mosaic mural installation by artist Paul Horiuchi (1906 - 1999) done for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair.
From there I meandered past a variety of crafts vendors and food purveyors, taking note of the Southern Kitchen booth that featured Southern and Cajun cooking. Since I'd just gorged on Cajun sounds, I knew when hunger got the best of me I'd have to come back there for something to eat. Not only was the jambalaya fabulous, Southern Kitchen is only a 20 minute drive from my house the next time I'm in the mood for Cajun food and not in the mood to cook.
The next stop was a dance venue. When I arrived the first time in the early afternoon, I found a caller calling the steps for square dancing
and signs advertising weekly Contra Dancing in Seattle. Who knew? Sounds to me like a fun way to get some exercise!
Later that same afternoon, I circled back to see what was going on and found couples dancing to Cajun music.
After a yummy lunch and a big glass of iced strawberry lemonade, I kept on going. Thank god for sensible shoes!So I won't overwhelm you -- I was there about 8 hours and took about 400 photographs -- I think I'll make this Northwest Folklife Festival (Part One) and keep you entertained in future posts.
Comments
Happy Days