Last Sunday, my niece Abisola and I hit the road for a day at Towson University's Asian Arts and Culture Center and its fifth Many Moons Festival. The festival was an all day affair (11 a.m.-6p.m.), with programs, performances and hands-on activities scheduled throughout the center.
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| Auntie and Abisola |
What an adventure!!! There were a bazillion things to do. After we viewed the featured exhibition, Interconnected: New Works by Yuriko Yamaguchi, and enjoyed a sampling of Asian cuisine in the Crossroads Marketplace, Abi tried to do all of them.
First, she tried her hand at fruit carving. With a few instructions and a little help from Noknoi Zerfas, she carved a rounded cantelope half into a flower.
Next, she decided to give silk cord knotting a try. With the help of a festival-goer who knew a little something about the art, she managed to pull off (pun intended) two double coin knots, quite nicely.
Then, it was on to the making of dough figurines with Hui Jen Hsu.
Satisfied with her girlie bear, Abisola moved on to papermaking with Gretchen Schermerhorn of Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center.
If a few of the Shizumi Kodomo Dance Troupe (SKDT) members had not come into the crafts area, Abisola would have given straw weaving, Japanese doll making, origami, bead craft, and kite and shuttlecock making a try.
But - since she is a 10-year student of dance, the craftmaking came to an abrupt end when it was time for the troupe's performance.
Abisola especially liked the fact that SKDT is a multicultural children's dance troupe that performs authentic Japanese cultural dance, which was formed by artistic director Shizumi higeto Manale for the White House Millennium Celebration.
When the troupe's last dance was done, so was I. Although I was exhausted, I must admit, "A good time was had by all!"
Cheers,
Jannette
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