Candid shots of children are not always easy; most of the time they want to clown for the camera. So, I have learned to pretend that I am adjusting the camera, and they don't look. Snap!
One of the things to see was the Dallas Koi Kichi Group which had 15 or so tanks of koi (only one was gold colored), many from Louisiana's Purdin Koi Farm. I asked one of the Booth Guys what questions people asked (a Koi FAQ of sorts). He said "1) how much do they weigh? 2) how old are they? 3) how do they taste?". I think that last one was in jest, but ...
There were various foods for sale (including Roly Poly which is Tex-Mex, not Asian); a green (coconut) boba from the (Filipino) d'Kusina restaurant; Fun Asia; and a new place: Korean Bistro SURA (Royal Lane, west of I-35E).
Every time I've ordered a boba (Taiwanese slush with tapioca balls) it has been at a restaurant where they had a machine. At this festival, d'Kusina improvised and made them by hand! The green one is coconut; there was also a purple one (flavor forgotten).
There were many, many booths; one that caught my eye was the Made In Bali one; their nice stuff reminded me of my trip there, years ago. Balinese males have one of only 4 given names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman or Ketut (meaning first, second, third and fourth). When the fifth child is born, they start over. So, when mom sticks her head out the back door to call her son (Wayan) a large part of the neighborhood responds. You'd think they'd develop a better way.
Also interesting: Purple Signal (1150 AM) broadcasts to a Chinese audience, but only between 6pm-6am weekdays, and 8pm-6am on the weekends. Their handout says there are 100,000+ Chinese living in the Metroplex.
There were also banks; realtors; medical groups; phone companies; the Dallas Police recruiters, and even the Dallas Summer Musicals. I think I even spotted the Islamic Association of North Texas, but it was standing room only there.
Verdict: a restful afternoon, in the middle of the city. And yes (of course) I took many photos.
