Saturday was busy for us if you've noticed how Kai had the face paint in the last three posts.
I found out last minute about the Lantern Festival, and was a tad disappointed it wasn't held at Encanto Park this year. It's where my parents would take me every year and it was closer to home. It was held at Mekong Plaza in Mesa, a good 45 minute drive from where I was. It was a sticky hot day, but not unbearable like it has been the last few months.
I'm very lucky to live in an area where Vietnamese culture is pretty big, so Kai can learn more about her background. Her favorite part of this event? Wearing an Ao dai (traditional Vietnamese dress)
It was extremely crowded, but there was plenty to do. Kai played on the inflatable slide, did a few carnival games, and we enjoyed a nice meal at one of the restaurants. During the cake eating contest outside, a freak rainstorm came splashing down, and everyone outside moved inside, making it much of a mess. My least favorite part was getting the "free" lantern. I stood in line for about 30 minutes, only to get to the front of the line to be moved into another line since that wasn't the "right" line. After another 20 minutes they moved the line to another spot hence moving back to the end of the line. I gave up and just sat down with Kai until I noticed people moving away from the station and eventually got her one. With all that waiting she still didn't get to play with her lantern since it started raining, but now she has a nice souvenir.
Kai loved the entertainment, there was a dance group, dragon dancing, and martial arts. She took part of the "beauty contest" but didn't fare so well. She cried the whole time since people were looking at her, or she was getting touched by people. Which is almost impossible to avoid with such a large crowd.
Hopefully she does better next year or I won't enter her. She still got a goody bag, and had fun at the other parts, I might go buy her lantern way ahead of time next year so we can avoid lines.
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