Local Tennements

Yesterday at Centennial Park there was what was posted as a "Cultural Festival" and I got excited to go...and went! I was accompanied by Kalid who has traveled around the world and who's parents are of Colombian origin. As we walked up the pathway, there were booths lining our way filled with jewelry and other arts and crafts that were labeled to be from that particular country. We stopped at the tent labeled "Egypt" and looked at the papyrus scrolls that all looked the same. I hate to say that we were less than impressed. Well, to put it bluntly, we were downright disappointed! We exchanged perturbed glances but said nothing, and continued on - hoping that the center of this circle would hold a true experience. We entered the "Celebration of Cultures" area where they had different tents with people dressed in ethnic clothing and music of that region. It was an experience, to be sure! Lively people scurrying from tent to tent, and a stage in the center with people dancing the dances of their cultures! But too bad the Japan-tent had blond-haired blue-eyed chicks in red yukattas handing out fans made in china, and the Jamaican tent boasted nothing beyond a good beat from some really nice speakers and a Jamaican woman moving to the music at the door of the tent. Various groups were taking turns on the outskirts of the operation performing their traditional "song and dance" and we walked straight past that, too. We'd reached the end...."Is that everything?" Kalid asked in bewilderment. "I think it was. I think we saw everything..." I replied as we looked back at the colored canvas of the tents blowing in the wind.
We walked over to the steps of the Parthenon and popped down on them to chat about what we had just experienced. The view from this vantage point was spectacular - all of the tents and people happily drifting from tent to tent was an inviting view! It made me think that perhaps I was too judgemental about the whole affair. But then I remembered why I felt repulsed while in the middle of it all. I do not like "window-shopping" through cultures. I do not believe in it and it grates on me like an annoying poke that keeps on poking and never stops. I want to feel and taste and smell and experience "culture" - immerse myself in it! Perhaps it would have been more appealing if they had each country in its own area instead of having a "food area" with many different food stuffs, and then another one for "jewelry" and then another one for performance arts and other crafts. If they had an area for Iran and had the food, clothing, art, and music in that area, and then another one for Mexico, and another one for Jamaica, and Japan. Where you could go in and hear the language, eat the food, and have THAT experience in THAT area. We both felt the same way. Obviously we were both looking for something more substantial - something to "give us pause". Contented in our debrief of our recent festival experience, we turned our attention to the open road once again...