An African Storyteller

More pix from the International Festival. This animated woman was telling African folk tales. I confess, though, that I was paying more attention to the images than the story. It that true of many photographers? By concentrating on the photographs you may miss the experience.

The young woman to the speaker's left gave punctuation to the story with a rhythm instrument that I think was made from a gourd.
               

Poor People of Paris

I wasn't happy with the overall quality of my shots from the International Festival but today I'll let the music communicate: Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris, French chanson with a jazz twist.

By the way, back to a Thursday Arch post tomorrow. It's a different one.

 

                   

Feeling Hot?

If so, there's good reason. At the end of a surprisingly mild summer St. Louis is back in the boiler. High temps this week are in the upper 90s F., roughly 35 - 37 C. 

These young volunteers were peddling drinks at the International Festival. They don't look old enough to sell the beer and margarita mix I see on the table. When I asked the young lady in the top pic whether she was a Yankees fan, as I was when young, she told me they were all given the hats just that morning. Couldn't whoever was buying at least have given them St. Louis Cardinals caps? After last night's action, our beloved Cards have moved back into first place in their division.                    

Eat International

Our International Festival has a long, long line of tents serving munchies from around the world. I got there to shoot at opening time yesterday and bought an Israeli pastry, a chunk of cheddar baked inside a small roll of challah bread. When Carolyn went later she had a Bosnian lunch and brought home Afghani for dinner. I don't think we have a big Burmese population here but they were enthusiastic. Their cuisine smelled wonderful.

Below, a very short video showing how tempt people into trying something new.                    

Om . . .

Exiled Tibetan monks on stage at the International Festival in Tower Grove Park.  It seems almost sacrilegious to call it a performance. It seemed even worse to amplify their sounds and play them through huge loudspeakers. My reaction is influenced, I'm sure, by having had the great privilege of visiting some of their brothers back home. 

It was too hot and too crowded to shoot for long. May try to get back there when it opens this morning.