I DON’T BELIEVE IT

Crowds queue up for snacks at the Festival of Nations. I guarantee you there is no such thing as a Korean corn dog. Mozzarella? Italian, degenerated in this country. Hot dogs? Based on German sausage but first served in this form at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Coating it in corn meal and deep-frying it? American county fairs. And, moving right, Chan  is a Chinese name but teriyaki is Japanese. You can’t believe anything these days.               

IT’S A SMALL WORLD

Seen at the Festival of Nations. Maybe this globe provides a sense of scale. It rolls a little when the children push it but I’m guessing the bottom is a bit flat so it doesn’t go bounding into the street.

                         

 

FESTIVAL OF NATIONS

Time for a change. Last weekend we had our annual Festival of Nations, put on by the St. Louis International Institute. It’s a wonderful organization that provides services for immigrants, English classes, transportation and anything our new residents might need. The festival was almost canceled after the administration pulled most of its funding. The community came together, though, and the event was packed.                   

AT THE FRINGE - MOMMY ISSUES

David Wraith’s deconstruction of his racial, sexual and gender identity through the lens of his complicated relationship with his late mother. Calling Dr. Freud! I include the last image as an illustration of the visual havoc caused by digital projectors on the stage (although it looks kind of cool). The end of the show pushed the limit of the Fringe’s no censorship policy to the point that I lowered my lens.

Need to move on. There are two major photo events here this weekend, the Japanese Festival at the botanical garden and Paint Louis. Hope I can get to both.        

AT THE FRINGE - MORE AERIAL DANCE

I posted one picture of Martha Newsam’s aerial dance performance earlier in this series but did not have time to edit any images of her students. Time to get back to that. Again, the gentle motion and grace were exquisite. The lighting was all blue and I thought that black and white showed the dancers to better effect.                   

AT THE FRINGE - THE COMPLICATED REFLECTIONS OF HIM

A show by Jeremy Watson about the struggles of contemporary Black masculinity on a journey from trauma to freedom. It was difficult for me to follow, but that is not a reflection on the show. The monologue was delivered in the style of choppy, highly rhythmic and rhymed hip hop lyrics, without a musical base. This old guy comes from a different cultural place. The audience sure got it, though.                    

AT THE FRINGE: JEANNETTE RANKIN, CHAMPION OF PERSISTENCE

Jeannette Rankin was the first female member of congress, elected from Montana in 1916 and again in 1940. A committed pacifist, she was one of 40 to vote against entry into World War I and the only member to vote against entering World War II. She was a powerful force for women’s suffrage, social equality and was a co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union. J. Emily Peabody presented a moving dramatization of her career and accomplishments. You can see much of it at www.thornproductions.org.