Last Saturday we had absolutely beautiful weather for the 2009 Mountain Mandarin Festival!
The air was brisk, the sky was a clear, November blue, and the sun was warm...shorts and sweatshirt temperatures. My friends and I met a little before eleven, and then entered the Fairgrounds to begin the circuit of sounds, scents, sampling, and sight-seeing! There was so much to see, and so much to report. In addition to the loop, there were two buildings full of crafts, such as soaps, jewelry, lotions, lights, wines, candies, olive oils, wood carvings, metal castings, kitchen apparati, and much, much more!
(Click here to see the Slideshow for some examples of various handicrafts). Outdoors, there were numerous games and such for the younger kids, along with demonstrations (chainsaw carving, for instance). In the middle of the Festival was the sound-stage, where a blue-grass band (reminiscent of O Brother Where Art Thou?) sludged through a few cover-songs from the movie...Man Of Constant Sorrow being the first. We took in the tunes during lunch - an Elk burger (I would have liked the Ostrich, too) for a friend and I, and sausages and Teriyaki chicken and roasted corn for my other, less adventurous friends. Oh, and tangerine juice to drink! This year, I purchased Mandarin honey, several Mandarin jams (Blazing Mandarin with orange Habañero peppers added), and bags of Mandarin fruit (I also stocked up on jams for Christmas presents). My Thanksgiving cranberries had fresh Mandarin, too...and were delicious! I attended the Festival on Sunday, as well, but the weather had turned drizzly and grey. Since we (two other friends and I) were walking to the fairgrounds from a nearby apartment, I decided to leave my camera behind (in the interest of unfettered travel, should I be carrying anything on the return). Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the images in the Slideshow...just click below, and you should be transported directly. ;-)
Josh 
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