On a recent trip to Fort Worth, Texas, a friend, born and raised in Texas, took me to the old Fort Worth Stockyards. If you’re ever in Fort Worth, a free (except for parking) bit of entertainment that’s very enjoyable, especially for kids or easily amused old folks, is a trip to the stockyards.

The big event–I think it only happens twice a day–is the “cattle drive.” (I didn’t know they could drive; did you?) Actually, it’s more like a “cattle mosey,” since they just amble along the street, the whips in the hands of the cowboys and cowgirls only for decoration. Such gentle, beautiful creatures.

Cattle Drive

 

Museum

There is also a free museum. It’s chock full of stuff from the era that made Fort Worth the legend it is. The museum is in a still functioning office building of the era.

 
 
 
 
 

I grew up with these

However, some of the items in the museum I remember from my own childhood home. I must be even older than I thought!

 
 
 

Around the restored old-town

Many of the buildings in old town around the stockyards have been restored and are now filled with shops and restaurants. I particularly enjoyed this one shop that specialized in hats, boots, spurs, and other articles of cowboy/cowgirl attire. Even the hotel was decorated with period furniture.

 
 
 

The rodeo arena is also here at the stockyards. I’ve only been to a couple rodeos in my life, but I’ve always enjoyed them. If I ever get a chance to return to Fort Worth, I hope to take in another one. I truly do enjoy the American West culture, history, and mystique.

That’s not all there is to Texas, of course! All the people I met on this trip were active professionals, highly cultured, and politically progressive. That should be no surprise since the music scene in Texas is among the finest in the country. Just the number and quality of pipe organs (why I was there) exceeds the number and quality of pipe organs in all of the Southeast US. Texas is a remarkable place that I hope to revisit.

Can there be any doubt that the mix of family, friends, and food is one of life’s greatest pleasures? One look at the pictures accompanying this article should be proof. Those smiles are deeply felt. Joined in common cause, these families and friends celebrate their Filipino community while preparing their culture’s foods.

“Backstage” is where all the most intimate and exciting photographs can be taken. That’s mostly what you see here. That’s where huge woks and enormous vats of hot oil, open flame grills and all-day barbeque smokers, contribute their heat to the intensity of the festival food preparations. Elbow to elbow everyone works to prepare for Philfest 2010.

Philfest (www.pcfitampa.org/philfest/philfest.html)–the annual Tampa Bay Filipino festival–is held at the 5-acre outdoor facility, called “The Village.” It is part of the Philippine Cultural Foundation (http://www.pcfitampa.org/home.html) Philippine Cultural Enrichment Complex and adjacent to its Bayanihan Arts & Events Center (www.bayanihanartscenter.org/bac_2006_home.htm). The Arts & Events Center houses a 9,900 sq. ft. convention, exhibit, and event hall, called the Grand Sampaguita Hall.

The Philfest grounds have had recent improvements, particularly concrete walkways that make experiencing the festival more enjoyable. The backdrop of the performance stage is an immense mural by Jonathan Jennings (see photo at end of article) that captures the essence of the land and peoples of the Philippines. That stage was the setting for numerous performing acts throughout the festival. Packing every remaining square inch of the site were dozens of booths offering Philippine crafts, souvenirs, and food!

Many non-Filipinos are unfamiliar with Filipino cuisine simply because there’s not that many Filipino themed restaurants in the mainland USA. Notice, the word, “mainland,” in that sentence. In Hawaii, Filipino restaurants abound because of the history of immigrants to the islands working on the plantations.

Here are a few websites that have information on Filipino immigration to Hawaii, in particular, and the U.S. states, in general (note: Canada, also, has a large Filipino immigrant population):

• Asian Nation (www.asian-nation.org/filipino.shtml)
• The Philippine History Site (opmanong.ssc.hawaii.edu/filipino/)
• Filipino American History (www.csuchico.edu/ncpaso/filipino.htm)
• Filipino American (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_American)

One more list: some good websites with information about, and recipes for, Filipino cuisine. Give them a try. Filipino cuisine is rich and flavorful. Asian, but with a unique quality, and definitely the food of an island nation.

• Philippine cuisine (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_cuisine)
• Pinoy Recipe (www.pinoyrecipe.net)
• Pinoy cook (pinoycook.net)
• Filipino Food Lovers (www.filipino-food-lovers.com)
• Filipino Mix–Recipes ( www.pinoymix.com/recipes/)

Throughout this article and the website links, you’ll see the word, “Pinoy.” This means Filipino. It also means Filipino male (female is pinay).

Every Asian culture’s eggroll is different. There’s a distinctly Vietnamese eggroll, a Chinese eggroll, and a Thai eggroll; there is also a Filipino eggroll, called a “lumpia,” which is long and narrow with a unique taste, quite different from other Asian eggrolls. If you ever get a chance to sample one, don’t hesitate; you’ll be very surprised at how tasty and savory it is.

used by permission of the artist, Jonathan Jennings

• Art Around the Clock,
• Best Books & Rich Treasures,
• A Book Legacy,
• Books To The Ceiling,
• Camelot Books,
• Arthur H. Minters Bookseller,
• Miracle Estate Sales,
• Vivian Moore Bookseller,
• Old Tampa Book Company,
• Griffin Bookbinding, and Griffon’s Medieval Manuscripts, Inc., both of which were part of the Inkwatu post, Wilson’s Bookworld, and of course
• Lighthouse Books, covered in Inkwatu’s Lighthouse Books. I’m not sure of Mr. Michael Slicker’s responsibilities with the St. Pete Antiquarian Book Fair, but I suspect he’s very active in the organization.

Check out the entire list of participating booksellers at the webpage given above (floridabooksellers.com/bookfair.html) to find small, independent bookstores near you. Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble are fine and have their purpose, but these people need our support for it is they who find, restore, and preserve the gems that we can buy from them. As you look through the list of dealers, you’ll notice the abbreviation, ABAA. That stands for Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (www.abaa.org).

12th to 16th Century Illuminated Manuscripts, 19th & 20th Century English & American Literature, African American, African Diaspora History, Agriculture, American Historical, American Literature, American Revolution, Americana, Americana (South), Lesbian/Gay, Anthropology, Antiquarian Theology, Antique and collectible maps and atlases, Antiques, Appraisals, Architecture and photography, Art and Print Reference, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Art of the South, Art, Autographed books, Autographed Children’s Books, Autographs, Automotive, Aviation, Baseball, Bierce, Big Little Books, Bindings, Biography, Boy & Girl Scouts, Caldecott & Newbery Award Winners, Calligraphy, Canadiana, Cartographic Reference, Catalogues, Chess, Children’s Literature, Children’s Books, Children’s Series, Children’s Illustrated, Church History, Civil War, Civil War & Presidential Autographs & Documents, Classic Fiction, Collectible Paperbacks, Colonial Americas, Cook Books, Counter Culture, Designer Binding, Detective Fiction, Disney and Modern Firsts, Documents & Prints, Early Printed Books, Economics, Engineering, English & American Literature, Ephemera, Exploration & Voyages, Family Bibles Restored, Fantasy and Mysteries, Fine & Leather Bindings, Fine Art Books, Fine Hand Bookbinding, Fine Prints, Firearms, First Editions, Fishing, Florida fiction, Florida History, Florida Non-Fiction, Floridiana, Genealogy, Golf, Graphics, H. L. Mencken, Hemingway, History, Horror, Horse & Dog Sporting, Horticulture, Hunting, Illustrated & Color Plate Books, Judacia, Law, Leather Sets, Literary First Editions, Literature (Modern), Literature in Translation, Literature of the South, Little House Books, Manuscripts, Maps, Maritime History, Mathematics, Medicine, Methodism, Michael Hague, Military History, Miniature Books, Modern Illustrated, Modern Original, Mystery, Native American, Natural History, Natural Science, Nautical, New England History, Out of Print Scholarly, Outlaw, Periodicals on Art, Philosophy, Photographica, Photography, Photo-plays, Poetry, Polar, Pop Ups, Postcards, Press Books, Psychology & Medical, Railroads, Rare & Unusual, Religion, Science Fiction, Science, Sets, Signed & Inscribed Books, Slipcases, Small Press, Southern, Southern Americana, Southern Authors, Southern Fiction, Southern History, Southern Literature, Southern Regional, Sports, Steinbeck, Suspense, Tasha Tudor, Technical, Tennesseana, Tennis, Reformation, Theology, Tolkien, Transportation, Travel and Exploration, Typography, U.S. Coastal History, Visionary, Voyages, Western Americana, Whaling, Women Writers, Yachting, and Zane Grey.

Amazing, isn’t it. My own loves are in there: children’s series (stuff like the Wizard of Oz, The Bobbsey Twins, The Hardy Boys, Doctor Dolittle, and World War II Flying Ace novels) and ephemera. Ephemera, literally, means “things that transient,” in this context, posters, illustrations, postcards, tickets, sheet music…things that are very much a product of their time. The Inkwatu post, Vintage Sheet Music Covers, has images of some in my collection and Music From Another Era has some from my sister’s collection (that link opens to her own website). The Inkwatu post, Vintage Florida Postcards presents part of the postcard collection of a good friend, Fran Sims.

If you have the chance and this kind of thing interests you, take in the last day of the Book Fair on the 14th. If you have to miss it this year, there’ll be another next year about this time of the year. And…be sure and support your local, independent bookseller throughout the year!

Gary Baldassari, Incorporated Magi audio engineer, instructing Full Sail interns on microphones

Teachers and students

 
The tagline for Inkwatu is “Delights, near and far.” Less poetically put, that simply means that this blog is about things that I find delightful: people, places, things, food…and also the good I see some people do. One such instance is the training of young engineers in acoustic jazz since 1989 by the seasoned professionals of Incorporated Magi. This training is a free benefit that these pros offer at any festival where they have been engaged to provide sound. They’ve been doing this in places such as Pori, Finland; Japan, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina; and, of course, the USA. They do it to keep intact the knowledge of how to provide audio for acoustic jazz.
 
Last year was the First Annual Arbors Records Invitational Jazz Party and it was covered by Inkwatu: see Arbors Records. That post covered the event itself with a few asides about jazz in Florida and different kinds of jazz record labels and musicians that part part of the local scene. But, this year, for an Inkwatu post on the Second Annual Arbors Records Invitational Jazz Party, the post theme is a little different. It’s a look behind the scenes of the event, especially the teaching by a group of dedicated professionals of hands-on skills to the “next generation” of audio pros.

Gary Faller, audio engineer, with Full Sail intern

Audio engineer, Mike Morgan, instructing Full Sail intern

Dan Czernecki, audio engineer and an alumnus of Full Sail, instructing Full Sail interns

Microphones

At the heart of any sound installation are the microphones. It is through that point in a long chain of electronic processes that the sound becomes an electronic signal. If the microphone is bad (or even inappropriate for the situation), the entire rest of the chain (amplification, recording, etc.) will be bad. The art of the microphone is a skill acquired from long experience and knowledge.

Gary Baldassari with two revolutionary microphones: Grado Holographic Recording Instrument (the sphere on the left) and the HMP-1 Scalar microphone (the stick mike on the right)

Baldassari showing different microphone heads	Baldassari installing piano microphone
DPA 4041 Tube microphone inside piano	close-up of HMP-1 Scalar microphone

The recording room

What the audience heard at the Arbors event was a mix that’s done in the actual hall, intended for the audience in the hall (as well as a subordinate mix that’s onstage, just for the benefit of the musicians). That mix was engineered this year by Gary Faller (pictured above) with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working a number of sessions in the old Roy Disney Post Group studios on the back lot of Disney in Orlando.

In addition to the mixing of the sounds from the stage for the audience at the Arbors event, a documentary recording is made, backstage, in a recording room well isolated from the sounds in the performance room. The Full Sail interns learned what goes into that step as well. An important aspect of this craft is the extensive documentation which must be made at every moment of the recording. The producer, faced with countless hours of recordings, relies upon this documentation. (Think of all those unlabeled cassettes in your junk drawer at home–imagine that times 100!) Engineer, Dan Czernecki (owner of Classical Recording Service, 96 N Lake Ave., Troy, NY 12180-6704 — serving the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metro Area), with whom I’ve produced at least one recording, is a master of documentation and a producer’s delight. Mike Morgan, who also worked the recording room, is an outstanding opera tenor as well as an audio engineer.

Mike Morgan & Dan Czernecki instructing interns in recording room

A very special piano

A real treat for me, as a pianist, was getting to meet the creator, Justin Elliot (www.classicpianoshoppe.com), of very special piano accessories. Mr. Elliot originally intended his unique piano legs and music rack (see photo) as mere decorative touches. He soon discovered, as did the artists who now demand his piano, that these touches very positively affect the actual sound of the piano. The Yamaha pianos for the event were provided by Steve Trawford of Piano Distributors of Sarasota, but Mr. Elliot fitted one of the pianos for the event with his special accessories. I really like the way it makes the piano sound. He was also the piano technician for the event, carefully shading the quality of sound to work properly with the acoustics of the room, the performance style of the artist, and the kind of music being played. There’s a lot more to being a piano technician than just tuning the piano!

Justin Elliot with Yamaha piano fitted with his accessories

Musicians relaxing

 
It was a personal treat to get to see the great musicians backstage relaxing, practicing, and trading stories. Just the pianists at the event were an impressive list: Dick Hyman, Bernd Lhotzky, Louis Mazetier, Rossano Sportiello, Jeff Barnhart, Chris Hopkins, Norm Kubrin, Ehud Asherie, Tom McDermott, and Mike Lipskin. There were musicians from Israel, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, the UK, the USA, Australia, Canada, and Holland. If you’ve not been to an Arbors event, and you like classic jazz, visit the Arbors Records website (www.arborsrecords.com/) and get ticket for next year’s event when they’re available and/or buy some recordings.

pianists Mike Lipskin, left; Louis Mazetier seated; Ehud Asherie, right

Hanging theater lights

The Full Sail students also learned about and assisted with the hanging of lights. Lights and sound are often part of the same production company and they affect each other electronically. The lighting system for the Arbors event was provided by Atlas Production. The folks who hang lights are a lot braver than I am. Not only do they work with real, dangerous electricity (not just electronics), but they do it up in the air!

It’s a joy to see pros teaching the youngsters who will be the pros in the days to come. The apprentice concept is time honored. I’m glad to see the tradition so enthusiastically continued by Incorporated Magi.

Bruce Blackman of Atlas Production finding a hang point for the light bar

Tomorrow, the Sunshine City Antiques and Collectibles Show opens at the St. Pete Coliseum. Here’s the details from the City of St. Petersburg Events page.

January 8-10
Sunshine City Antiques and Collectibles Show, Friday 5pm to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm, $6 adults, 12 and under are free. This nationally recognized show features nearly 100 exhibitors of antique furniture, art, pottery, jewelry, silver, toys, and glass. The event also features a two-day Antiques Appraisal Fair. Held Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 2pm, $5 per item.

The photo at the top of this article is a panorama of the 2009 Antiques Show at the Coliseum. It, and of all the still photographs in this post, expand to full size if you click on them. I encourage you to at least take a peek at the panorama at full size.

Immediately above is a short embedded video from that same vantage point. I just wanted you to see the scope of the show and to hear the sounds to get a sense of the show’s ambiance.

The rest of the snapshots from the 2009 show I present without further comment except to say that two of my favorites are the model boat (immediately above), the folk-art jugs (immediately below), and the old lace exhibit (at the very end).

There were about 36 booths, including local artisans who were selling their wares. Of those booths about a dozen were chili cookoff contestants. Scattered among the various booths were local entertainers. That’s a typical and very effective Florida outdoor festival–one of many, but one very much worth attending.

I haven’t been able to find a list of the official winners of the 2009 Chili Cookoff, but If I were to award prizes for categories of my own design, here’s who I would have chosen:

• Most Original: Island Seafood Market
• Most Rustic: Red Knights Firefighters Motorcycle Club
• Most Traditional: VFW Post 39
• Most Unique Flavor: Nitally’s
• Most Useful Idea: Tampa Bay Woman Newspaper

That order of categories in no way implies 1st, 2nd, 3rd place, etc. In my mind, each category is equal and different. My order is totally random.

I’ve got to figure out a reasonable facsimile of Island Seafood’s Chili. I adored it. It was made with white beans and a mix of seafood. Wow…! It was sort of like Senate Soup, but much spicier and with chopped seafood in it. It’s going to be a personal quest to try and duplicate that here at home.

The Red Knight’s venison chili was super. I’m a fan of wild game meats. This chili was right out of pioneer traditions.

The Tampa Bay Woman Newspaper chili had green sweet peppers in it. Now, I’ve tasted a lot of chilies before, but I’d never had any with sweet peppers in it. I was surprised by how much it added to the mix. I’m sure countless people already know about adding sweet peppers to chili, but it was new to me. And was instantly added to my own recipe.

Nitally’s chili had a decidedly Thai flavor which was not only unusual, but addictive. I could have made a pig of myself at their booth.

The VFW men’s chili was a very traditional, can’t-beat-this-basic-chili, chili–extremely good. Now, this was the men’s chili; the women’s group from the post also had their own chili, but I didn’t try that one.

Today’s weather is cold (by Florida standards), rainy, and windy. So, after a friend with whom I had breakfast this morning mentioned freezing chili–another something I didn’t know you could do!!!–I decided this would be perfect weather to make some (more or less traditional) chili so I’d have some to freeze…and eat, now, of course.

There’s a zillion and one chili recipes on the Internet, but here’s mine for what it’s worth. Maybe you’ll see something in it you’d like to incorporate into your own personal chili recipe. Anyway, aren’t all chili recipes an improvisation of sorts, totally fluid, changing with what’s in the pantry?

• cover bottom of LARGE pot with extra virgin olive oil
• dice two LARGE Spanish onions and sauté in the oil on high heat
• coarsely chop three medium sized sweet peppers (I use the red/green/yellow 3 pack my store sells)
• add to sautéing onions and stir in, letting onions and peppers soften
• add 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
• add 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• stir and reduce heat to medium

After the onions are soft, stir in, one at a time, each of the following spices, following each spice with just enough vegetable (or chicken) broth to keep mix from getting too dry.

• 2 tablespoons powdered garlic (powder, not salt)
• 1.5 tablespoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1.5 tablespoons oregano (I use Turkish, but Mexican quite OK)
• 0.5 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1 tablespoon paprika (smoked if you can get it)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 0.5 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce
• if you’re into really scorching hot chili, add cayenne and hot sauce to your own taste…although I like many hot foods, I like my chili kind of wimpy

Stir the above as adding the ingredients until you get a smooth, slightly moist–but not runny-mix; but, too dry would be as bad as too runny…use your eye!

Take heat back up to high and quickly add the following (best to already have all cans opened in advance).

• 4 15-oz cans (drained) dark red kidney beans
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste
• 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes
• 3 12-oz packages of texturized vegetable protein (any brand; any other protein will, of course, work)
• (note: this recipe doesn’t need ANY extra salt because of all the salt in the canned beans and tomato products!)
• bring to boil
• reduce heat to medium low
• simmer until you can’t wait any longer; serve; always good with corn bread (I just use the cheapest store mixes for that)

I just had two bowls of it and it hit the spot!

My sister likes to make her chili with black beans. I’ll bet that tastes good! She also grows much of her own food so she has two bushes of those tiny HOT Thai peppers–she tosses in about three (whole, not chopped or anything) to cook along with the rest of her chili ingredients. I’m sure you’ve all got your chili tricks. Please feel free to volunteer them in the comments. Comments are appreciated by me and all the readers.

Next year, if you aren’t already a fan of the Chili Cookoff, keep an eye on the Grand Central District Association website for the dates of next year’s Cookoff and other events throughout the year that the the Association sponsors. You might also try an afternoon stroll through the Grand Central district at any time, for this is where many of the galleries, antique stores, indie restaurants, and artisans are located–St. Pete’s answer (and a good one) to New Orleans’ Magazine Street.

Daisy

Grady

Most cities have dog parks, an idea which shows good sensitivity on the part of local government to the needs of its citizens. Here’s a list of Pet Friendly Places to Play with Your Pet in Florida.

Here’s the official list of St. Petersburg dog parks: St. Pete Dog Parks. Here’s an unofficial list of the same information at Pets Welcome.

Here’s the official list for Hillsborough County (where Tampa is), dog parks, and an unofficial list for Tampa, Dogster.

Almost all the above sites also have information on other cities within the greater Tampa Bay area. Here are a few more:

• DogparkUSA
• For the Voiceless
• Pet Friendly beaches

You’ll notice that dog parks come in varieties–just as dogs do! There’s leashless parks where they’re free to run. But, there are some parks where they must be on a leash at all times. There are parks that are primarily for the dogs and parks that are primarily for people, but allow dogs. Of course, there are pet friendly beaches as well as parks. Some parks have runs for big dogs separate from runs for little dogs.

Even if you’re petless, find a friend with a dog, and tag along to a dog park. The experience draws you out of yourself as you watch these rascals play together.

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH FUNNEL CAKE

SPIFFS (the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society — www.spiffs.org/) “is the only independent multiethnic organization of its kind in the United States. It was founded in 1975 as an umbrella organization of ethnic groups who joined together to present a festival during the US Bicentennial Celebration.”

In addition to their annual Folk Fair–this years just concluded this past weekend–they provide a number of educational, entertainment, cultural pride, and translation services for the community through the following activities:

The Speakers Bureau – Folk Artists and ethnic resource volunteers visit area schools and other community venues to discuss the heritage of their ethnic group, share their music, dance, arts and crafts, and sometimes demonstrate ethnic food specialties.

The Language Bank – More than 100 individuals handling more than 30 different languages and dialects serve as translators and interpreters for the community in courts, hospitals and schools and assist local city and county officials with translations for visiting dignitaries.

General Assembly, Each of the SPIFFS ethnic member groups have a delegate and an alternate delegate to the SPIFFS which meets once a month at the Sunshine Center in downtown St. Petersburg.

Folk dance groups Many of the member groups have dance groups which are available to perform throughout the community. One of these groups is the SPICE (St. Petersburg International Children’s Ensemble), for the other entertainment groups, please contact SPIFFS office.

Learn more about SPIFFS by visiting their website at www.spiffs.org/. Below are photos of some of the special events, performances, and booths at the 2009 Folk Fair.

GRAND PARADE PARTICIPANT FROM AFRICAN-AMERICAN GROUP

Special Subjects

Grand Parade slideshow & album 53 photos
Volunteers slideshow & album 21 photos
Thai Orchids slideshow & album 13 photos
Foods slideshow & album 49 photos

SVETLANA NIKONOVA (DOMRA) & VLADIMIR ZAKHAREVICH (BAYAN)

On Stage

Hmong dancers slideshow & album 23 photos
Polynesian dancers slideshow & album 6 photos
Vietnam dancers & album 6 photos
Thai dancers slideshow & album 4 photos
Stage of the Americas slideshow & album 10 photos
Native Americans slideshow & album 18 photos
Gulf Coast Enzianer Schuhplattler Verein slideshow & album 53 photos
Russian & International Dancers slideshow & album 88 photos
Nikonova & Zakharevich slideshow & album 3 photos
Celtic Performers slideshow & album 4 photos
Student Groups slideshow & album 24 photos
Student Art Work slideshow & album 9 photos
Awards & Paul Revere slideshow & album 13 photos

HANDMADE DOLLS FROM HMONG VILLAGE BOOTH

Booths

African slideshow & album 5 photos
American folk and Pennsylvania Dutch slideshow & album 6 photos
Bubble Tea slideshow & album 2 photos
Columbia slideshow & album 3 photos
Fiji slideshow & album 10 photos
German slideshow & album 8 photos
Hmong slideshow & album 12 photos
India slideshow & album 7 photos
Jerk Hut & Jamaica slideshow & album 10 photos
Pakistan slideshow & album 5 photos
Peru slideshow & album 10 photos
Philippines slideshow & album 9 photos
Poland slideshow & album 11 photos
Portugal slideshow & album 8 photos
Russian Heritage slideshow & album 6 photos
Scots slideshow & album 3 photos
Taiwanese American Cultural Organization slideshow & album 7 photos
Thai slideshow & album 27 photos
Turkish slideshow & album 6 photos
Vietnam slideshow & album 9 photos

SPIFFS FLAG

Click on any picture in this post for larger image.

SPIFFS (www.spiffs.org/), the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society, is one of the beloved institutions of St. Pete. I’m honored to be their official photographer this year while their regular photographer is in the hospital.

This year, the fair has been moved from the spring to the fall. It is open to the general public Saturday November 7, 2009, 10am-10pm and Sunday November 8, 2009, 11am-7pm. Admission $8.00 children under 12 free w/paid adult.

I’m posting this article a day earlier than usual in hopes that those who read it will decide to go to the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday.

The fair is usually in Vinoy park, but this year it’s in a slightly different location. It’s on Alfred Whitted Park, along the northern edge of Alfred Whitted Airport. I’ve discovered that all the online search map programs incorrectly identify the location and address of this park! But, the directions are simple: take 5th Avenue South until it deadends at Bayshore Drive. There will be police directing you where to park.

Thursday and Friday of this past week were school days, during which Tampa Bay area students attend the fair. The photos in this post were taken during that time.

If you enjoy these photos, please go to http://inkwatu.com/spiffs-2009-photo-page/ for the final edits for each of the days as well as some collections by subject. This file will be updated until all photos from the event are posted.

A full-sized slideshow of all the pictures in this post is at this Flickr set. A webpage with link to slideshows and albums of ALL the stages and booths throughout the four-day fair is available at SPIFFS 2009 Photo Page.

I’ll now simply present the rest of the photos in this SPIFFS Thai Orchid collection without comment…hope you enjoy them. Be sure to click on pictures for larger images. Hope to see you at the fair!