Oh, the People You Meet at the Savannah Asian Festival!

Yesterday I attended the 2012 Savannah Asian Festival at the Civic Center.  What a fun experience.

(Isn’t this a beautiful picture?  Uh, the one below, not above.  Well, unless you want to say that the one above is also beautiful and be rewarded with, I don’t know, valuable prizes or something.)

 

 

 

I sort of borrowed/stole the above pic from the Facebook page of the beautiful Tuquyen Mach, reporter extraordinaire with WSAV here in Savannah and emcee for this year’s festival (as she was last year).

Here I am cornering the very gracious Tuguyen before she headed back onstage to announce the next festival act.

I love the great attendance at the various festivals held in Savannah.  Everyone knows about our city’s St. Patrick’s Day and the Savannah Music Festival, both held each spring, but other events, such as the Irish Festival and this one, also bring out hordes of folks.  The civic center was packed.

Hello!  Hello!  These golden waving cats are bestowing good luck on all passersby.  I stood there an hour.

I met some of THE MOST fascinating people.  Here I am with Tae Kwon Do Grand Master Jong H. Lee.

And here’s upbeat, helpful Oscar demonstrating his expertise with sais (traditional Okinawan martial arts weapons).

And look at this beautiful Thai princess.  I think I was more impressed with her, than she with me.  Without land and fortune (only blog fame), she refused to accept my proposal of marriage.  Why didn’t I dress better?!

I met some very friendly folks from Crimson Art Henna, based out of Athens, GA.  (Henna is an ancient art in which an organic paste is applied to the skin, leaving a reddish-brown stain that lasts from one to three weeks.   www.CrimsonArt.com)

I ended up eating a WONDERFUL lunch of delicious rice noodles and savory beefsteak with onions from these ladies.

(For some reason, I think they got the distinct impression that I am famous.  I MUST stop introducing myself with, “Hello, you look great!  Care to have your picture taken with me?  I’m a world famous blogger.  No telling how many people around the planet will see this post!  Now move to the left a little.)

I loved this festival and all these folks.

I got lost only once.

One of the high points for me was the performance of the Matsuriza Taiko Drummers.  Here’s a tiny bit of it–when I joined in.

Okay, okay maybe not my finest video work to date, but you get the “sound” idea.

Here’s to you the bamboo of good fortune.  May all blessings come your way!

Amazing festival!  Go to 2013’s event.  As a matter of fact, let’s all go together.

My only regret about this terrific event is that I didn’t get to hop up onstage and perform like I did at the Irish Festival.  Oh well, as the Braves say, there’s always next year.