The Burien Strawberry Festival
Jun. 18th, 2006 11:47 am After Kouryou-chan's performance on-stage, Omaha, Kouryou-chan and I hung around the Burien Strawberry Festival, taking in the kitsch. And kitsch it is, where they sell New-Age potholders, Feng Shui massages, Zen garden-stones with URLs on them, crystals guaranteed to eliminate bellybutton lint, and a raft of Americana (made in China, naturally). There was the usual festival food, such as pre-buttered ears of corn and elephant ears, along with more local fare put out by the Burien Italian and German communities. (Wish I'd seen that first; if I was going to have grease for lunch, at least it could have been authentic Bratwurst!)
I mentioned earlier how Kouryou-chan's dance tearcher led the students in a distinctly Christian prayer. In years past, the local churches have rented the field next to the festival and put on their own mini-festival, with bouncy castles and the like, as an opportunity to infest innocent children with their memes of unworthiness and damnation. This year, however, they somehow managed to connive the city into letting them have space on festival grounds. One booth had a sign, "Are you going to Heaven? Two questions will provide the answer!" I was very annoyed. Omaha mentioned that the accomodation felt like Burien's taking one more step into saying that "If you're not Christian, you really don't belong in our community." You can't spit without hitting a church. Middle-school aged boys have come up to Omaha and asked her outright, "Are you a Christian?" (They then fled as if she could turn them into toads.)
I watched Kouryou-chan play on the children's swing set and stuff over at the south end of the park while Omaha went to track down some political operatives for the opposition. The playset was within earshot of the band stage, so I got to hear one of our local "cool jazz" bands. Not that great. Omaha came back and we headed home.
I mentioned earlier how Kouryou-chan's dance tearcher led the students in a distinctly Christian prayer. In years past, the local churches have rented the field next to the festival and put on their own mini-festival, with bouncy castles and the like, as an opportunity to infest innocent children with their memes of unworthiness and damnation. This year, however, they somehow managed to connive the city into letting them have space on festival grounds. One booth had a sign, "Are you going to Heaven? Two questions will provide the answer!" I was very annoyed. Omaha mentioned that the accomodation felt like Burien's taking one more step into saying that "If you're not Christian, you really don't belong in our community." You can't spit without hitting a church. Middle-school aged boys have come up to Omaha and asked her outright, "Are you a Christian?" (They then fled as if she could turn them into toads.)
I watched Kouryou-chan play on the children's swing set and stuff over at the south end of the park while Omaha went to track down some political operatives for the opposition. The playset was within earshot of the band stage, so I got to hear one of our local "cool jazz" bands. Not that great. Omaha came back and we headed home.
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