Phoenix, Arizona - Taipei Youth Folk Sports Performance

The Taipei Youth Folk Sports Performance group performed at the Kroc Center in Phoenix as part of the Sister Cities celebration.  The group of 27 performers and 13 delegates from Taipei, Taiwan came to Phoenix to celebrate 37 years of friendship between Phoenix and Taipei.

"Rope Skipping" became more and more complicated.

The group performed folk dances.

This is called "Taiwanese Diabolo Spinning".  The purple disk spun on a rope and the performers would swing them up and down and toss them high in the air.

 

This boy had three of them going at the same time. He is waiting for the one that he tossed in the air to come down.

Folk Dances.

 They showed some fancy footwork with a "Shuttlecock", the thing that you hit over the net in badminton.

 Add a hoop to make it more difficult.

 Swirl long pieces of material while kicking the shuttlecock.

 And stack on your friend!

 Folk dancers.

 A drum routine.

 Drumming on the plates.

 Glow in the dark diabolo plus long colorful tubes.

 Warrior folk dance.

 Long sheets of fabric.  They fluffed and lifted and moved.

 And displayed this pattern!

 One more photo of the shuttlecock routine. Do not try this at home unsupervised!

The Phoenix Sister Cities organization partners with our sister cities for performances and events throughout the year.  There is a youth ambassador program. I sat next to one high school student who was a US Ambassador and she loved the program.
https://www.phoenixsistercities.org  Our sister cities are:
Calgary, Canada
Catania, Italy
Chengdu, China
Ennis, Ireland
Grenoble, France
Hermosillo, Mexico
Himeji, Japan
Prague, Czech Republic
Ramat-Gan, Israel
Taipai, Taiwan

Phoenix, Arizona - Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva

Friend Paula recommended that we try Barrio Cafe Gran Reserva after the Art Walk at the Home and Landscaping Show. The cafe is on Grand Avenue around 13th Avenue. Street parking only and the walk was well worth the effort. Planters and trees were festively decorated. The building has an elegant facade and it was a surprise to see white tablecloths and a formal setting. We started the meal with fresh guacamole made table side. For the main course I was interested in the mole sauce (different every day). I eventually selected a stuffed pepper with a white sauce. We shared sample bites and every selection was equally good. One of the other diners ordered a mole dish so I was able to sample it.  I ordered flan for desert. 

The restaurant is small and filled quickly. Reservations recommended. 

Oh, and "mole" is pronounced mo-lay. It is a generic term for Mexican sauce made with chilis. I like the ones made with a little bit of chocolate. This sauce is not related to a ground rodent. 

PACgivesback Art Auction

Hoop Dancer, Desert Cactus Bloom, Chengdu Puppet Master, Parada Del Sol Rodeo

These are my works selected for Photographers Adventure Club (PAC) charity art auction this weekend July 15-17, 2016. Cause is Down Syndrome Network. Display is at the Home and Garden show at University of Phoenix stadium. Artists submitted their work and 140 were selected. Bidding live, via phone txt, and online at PACgivesback.org (open sometime before Friday). Bidding starts at $20 and runs from Friday until Sunday night! It gets real exciting at the end.

Large canvas prints. Printing donated by VivyxPrinting.com