Shinju Matsuri Float Parade

Well Sammy the Dragon was a big hit in the float parade on Saturday. Once again he barely put a foot wrong all day (except after he went to the Roebuck bay Hotel - but I'll get to that). Little Sammy the dragon did well in warm conditions and proved very popular with the crowds.

Sammy lead the parade until we reached the infamous Roey and he was lured into the beer garden with the promise of free beer. What with the warm conditions and the general excitement of the day Sammy probably overindulged as the parade passed by. As he weaved off down the street (Chinese dragons are supposed to weave) at the end of the parade a lady tapped me on the shoulder and asked if we meant to leave the big chinese flag that leads the parade in the beer garden. I thanked her for her concern and assured her that we were a well drilled unit and everything was going according to plan. After she left I ran back to get the flag from the Roey beer garden only to pass little Sammy and an assortment of kids running out of the beer garden after realising they had been left behind.

Luckily we didn't lose anyone and the day finished at the Male Oval where various acts performed on the big stage. The best one was the Pearl Bay Dancing Academy which starred none other than Anna Thorn.

(P.S: the surfboard in the picture belongs to me. I'll let you know when I can stand up on it - don't hold your breath).

Dragon Boats

Tracey and I paddled in the Dragon Boat races at Town Beach. Tracey was in the Broome boat people boat (Broome Primary School) and I was in the Hospital Heroes boat.

We had 3 races each and I'm sad to say that the boat people performed much better than the Heroes. The boat people (in white) finished in the top 8 out of 16 teams and I didn't bother checking where the heroes finished. Sufice to say that our sweep fell out of the boat in one race and without him you tend to just go around in circles. If the winner was the boat that paddled the furthest, then we definately would have won.

As usual the surf club won (I suppose that is a good sign for all those that go to the beach), and the kids won their tug of wars.

Shinju Matsuri Festival

Theopening ceremony of the Shinju Matsuri Festival went off like clockwork. Sammy the Dragon performed all manouvres without getting tied in a knot (which is better than we ever did in practice). The kids made lots of noise banging drums and other instruments and did well in the baby dragons. Sammy was woken to start the festival with fire crackers with Doug Fong (good name eh?) removing his blind fold. Sammy then did a bit of a show and headed off to Matso's brewery where he went into the bar and did a circuit, only smashing one glass - not a bad effort for a dragon with a big head and 16 pairs of legs. He drank about 16 beers before going off home to bed (most of the legs went back to Matso's though) while staircase to the moon happened.

Shinju festival

We are all in training for the Shinju Matsuri festival - the festival of the pearl in Broome. I am helping the Chinese Dragon to perform and the kids are playing the drums and other musical instruments that he dancesto. Despite diligently practicing for several weeks, poor old Sammy the Dragon has been tied in plenty of knotsbut hopefully it will all be ok on the day.

Tracey and I are also paddling in the Dragon boat races. She is in the Broome Primary school boat and I'm in the Hospital boat. It's a very prestigious event which is won by the surf club every year but I'm sure the bragging rights for who finishes in front will be worth it.

FAIRBRIDGE FESTIVAL

We travelled down to near Pinjarra to go to the Fairbrige Festival. Jann came with us and we met Harry and Grace and Roy, Kim, Angus and Tully there. It is held at the huge bushland site of a former Orphanage where thousands of people come to camp and have a great time for the weekend. There are literally dozens of venues at the festival all with a wide variety of different acts and activities. We saw almost every conceivable genre of music and even some new ones. How about “tango rockabilly latin gypsy deathcore punk” (I kid you not – and strangely enough I think it was the perfect description for the Barons of Tang). There was lots of street theatre, craft activities, circus skills, convict ghost stories, flying foxes, rope swings, rock climbing, places to eat and drink and all in a remarkable array of buildings, marquees, tepees and in the open. And of course there was a very diverse crowd, perfect for people watching.

The camping grounds were massive with just about everyone there staying for the weekend. I can thoroughly recommend the Fairbridge Festival – not tuna toss but excellent fun all the same.