On Saturday, I planned to check out the October China Festival at Kennedy Center and listen to the drumming extravaganza featuring 250 drummers, but accidentally become one of the 250 drummers, rehearsal, and took home the drum as a gift from the Hong Kong Symphony Orchestra as a gift!!!
I could not be closer to the stage to listen to four high-energy works including Worship of the Phoenix, Lion Dance Drum Music, Flying Dragons Jumping Tigers, and A Poem on the Drum.
I also checked out the market place in the roof level, which featured handicrafts made on-site and for sale, including Chinese knots, cloth arts, kites, pinwheels, calligraphy, and painting.
There are other indoor and outdoor events showcase the Chinese culture, including: Peking opera, orchestral music, folk music, Ballet, modern dance, theater, puppetry, and acrobatics, Contemporary film, photography, fashion, and visual arts. http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/festivals/05-06/china/home_noFlash.html
Before the drumming, I visited the US National Arboretum to attend the National Capital Orchid Society 58th Annual Show see thousands of orchid plants in bloom. http://www.usna.usda.gov/
The only disappointment was the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™ Grand Finale Festival to be held in the White House Ellipse but got cancelled. It’s a pity that I got soaking wet but could not see the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team and Lance Armstrong. www.tourofhope.org.
