Japanfest 2014

Welcome to Japanfest
Welcome to Japanfest

One of my daughters is taking Japanese in middle school this year. Although we’d been before, she wanted to make the trek up to Gwinnett Center to attend this year’s Japanfest the weekend of September 20. This was made more appealing by the two free tickets her teacher gave us.

My favorite performance of the two-day event is Matsurizo Taiko, a professional ensemble of Japanese drummers that regularly perform at Epcot. As we made our way to the auditorium, the usher said,”I’m sorry. It’s too crowded for you to enter.” No, this can’t be happening, I thought to myself. We still had a few minutes before the show was to start. However as more people came behind us and expressed disapointment, he shrugged his shoulders and let everybody in. “You have to stand up and there’s no security,” he warned. Inside the dark auditorium, we could feel (before we could hear), the constant boom, boom.boom of the large drums. Despite not having seats, the performance was captivating as the 14 men and women kept us entertained. (more…)

Dragoncon Parade – Atlanta

Speed Racer
Speed Racer

Captain America.

Wonder Woman.

Batman.

Yep. You guessed it. It’s the annual Dragoncon Parade over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta.

I had no clue what to expect as I’m not a Sci-Fi buff at all. I remember watching Star Trek as a kid only because we didn’t have have cable and it was the only thing on TV. I didn’t like it. (more…)

Inman Park Festival

photo_2 (1)
Inman Park was Atlanta’s first suburb

“There’s a parking spot. Hurry! No – there’s a fire hydrant.”

“There’s one – ugh – it’s a driveway.”

“Let’s try this street. No. Turn left here and try this one …”

My husband was about to throw me out of the car by the time we found a parking spot for the annual Inman Park Festival, but it was well worth it. (more…)

Opa! Atlanta Greek Festival

Opa!!!

We went to the Atlanta Greek Festival last Friday evening at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Annunciation on Clairmont Road. If you’ve never been, you need to make plans to attend next year. The outdoor four-day festival, now in its 38th year, offers some of the best Greek food. I had Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna), DH had the Souvlaki plate and Thing One and Thing Two shared an order of Greek chicken. We also ordered a side of Greek potatoes, which were seasoned with lemon, oregano and a few other delicious spices.

After watching Greek dancers in full costume perform on the stage, we went inside the church to buy a sampler of Greek pastries, including Kourambiethes (Greek wedding cookies) and Kataifi, which resembles shredded wheat, but much better tasting as it’s filled with nuts and honey. My favorite was the Amygdalota cookie, which is an almond cookie.  But the Baklava pictured below was pretty hard to beat. We ate these in the Kafenion, or coffeehouse area.

Image
The Baklava was the best I’d had in a long time!

To burn off all those calories, we walked around the various shops, looking at scarves, jewelry and paintings. This year, they had two new exhibits: a room about Greek culture and another about the Greek Orthodox church. We ended our visit by going inside the cathedral which was completed in 1970, the same year the church was designated as a cathedral. Tours were given every hour and it’s always impressive to view the intricate mosaics. Pictured below is the 58 foot dome ceiling mosaic called Jesus Christ Ruler of All, by Italian born Sirio Tonelli.

(more…)