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Memorial Day weekend means the Folklife Festival is happening at the Seattle Center. Yay!
I wanted to head down early so I could get there ahead of the crowds. I was hoping above all to see the Toucans. They are usually here every year. Unfortunately I never found them. : (
I've realized that my favorite thing about Folklife is all the people performing & busking on the street. I pay very little attention to the stages. Here are a few of the things I saw: |
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These guys sounded good and I liked their t-shirts; "Musicians: Will play for food. |
There can never be too many fiddles. |
The guy with the steel guitar and the little girl in a silver jumpsuit with a hoola-hoop were an odd pair. |
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This group is Penga. Lots of percusion instruments, that came together into a wonderful sound. I sat and listened to them for a bit. |
The exhibit hall that usually houses a vast number of merchant booths must be under construction, because it was closed off and they had crammed all those poor merchants in every available corner all around the Seattle Center.
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Here's something fun and new for me. My little digital camera can take 15 second video clips. So I gave it a try today. I've never tried to put one of these on the website before. Honestly, I'd never even used the feature until today. When I tested it, all I had to do was click on this link and it didn't download to my computer, it just opened a little window and played. So, all I know about the guy in the clip is that his name is Greg and he's really good at what he does. Of course I don't know what it's called. It seems vulgar to call it juggling. Did you ever see the movie Labyrinth? Jarith twirls these crystal balls about. Well, that's what Greg does in the clip here. Take a look. |
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Jason Webley is the only performer I saw today that I had heard of before. He had found a great spot for acoustics here and I recognized his voice from a good distance and came over to see him perform. I heard later that he got kicked out for selling his CDs. I guess Folklife likes to get a cut. |
I can't remember the name of this group and I have to apolagize for not getting the saxophone player into either picture. Imagine him off to the right side. The crowd was so tight that once I was close enough to see them at all it was impossible to get them all in one shot. I took the first two and then aimed at the last guy and they ended the song and their set. Picture opportunity missed. They had a really nice sound. |
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Here are two of the Morris Dancing troupes I saw while resting under a tree near the Mural Amphitheater. The first group had a sort of sword as a prop. It had a handle at each end and they would weave them about while they danced. The second group had black face on and their black suits were decorated with mens' neck ties with bells at the end. Very different, and quite entertaining. |
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A cute goth girl playing pretty music. |
Some sort of home made instrument that made beautiful sounds, and gathered quite the crowd. |
No idea, but it is interesting. |
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As I was leaving I stumbled upon these folks giving away tree sapplings for free. The ones I spoke with are local tree farmers who say they have lots of trees and no market for them right now. I accepted a cedar sappling that I am going to take to my Mom since I live in an apartment, and have nowhere to plant it. Won't she be surprised. |
Five hours was a bit beyond my limit and I was an exhausted quivering pile of muscles for the next couple of days. But I'm not complaining. I saw some new things, and lots of stuff that I see every year. It was definitely worth it!
~Snow
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