Dragon Boat Festival

On July 12th, we went to the Dragon Boat Festival at Lake Phalen. We enjoyed the park, saw some of the rowing teams practicing, and had the chance to meet some of our MN Red Thread (web group) families. It was a beautiful day and a fun cultural event for all of us. I would imagine in the next few years Hope will be more interested in participating in the activities and watching the races, but for now, we had a great time with our friends and Grandma and Grandpa.

Let's go. I think we have everything. - The way we had that stroller packed we probably could have camped overnight. :)

Off the Path - Hope and Grandpa wanted to get closer to the water to catch a glimpse of the practicing teams.

Proud Grandma & Grandpa

One of Hope's favorite outdoor activities...collecting sticks.

On our way up to meet the Red Thread group, we took a quick detour to see the dragon head. Here you can see the eyes are white. During the opening "Awakening of the Dragon" dance/performance/ceremony, the eyes were painted red to signify the beginning of the festivities. At the end, they were painted white again to rest for another year.

See the boats, Mama?

Dancers

MN Red Thread Group - We had a big group meet for this event. There were even more who arrived after our group photo op. It was so wonderful to put faces to familiar names from our on-line correspondence. There are some fantastic people in this group...so gracious with support, ideas, and friendship. We all were very excited too, because two families from our group received referrals with the last batch so we all got to oogle over the pictures. YEA!...more babies coming home.

Impromptu Ring-Around-the-Rosie (travelmates Hope, Olivia, & new friend Lily)



Snack Time - We stopped for a quick snack while we waited for Daddy to join us from work.

We finished our morning by trying some of the food delicacies there before strolling through some of the vendor area. This was one of the ladies displaying her work. Isn't it remarkable?

Hammin' It Up After Lunch

And so ends our 2008 Dragon Boat Festival Experience. Bye Mr. Dragon. See ya' next year.