The Aloha Festival

I look forward to the Aloha Festival every year. Mum & I have gone for the past 3 years, but this is the first time Devin has been able to go with us. Good food, shopping, music, and Polynesian dancing.

We rode the new light rail from Mesa into Tempe. First time for all 3 of us. Devin said it was ok and that it was the same as a bus. I'll tell you - buses are not this nice. We already have big plans to use it again if we ever go downtown to a concert or sporting event.

Look at that belly! I'm 24 weeks and it's really starting to bulge out.

Mum & Devin

The festival was fun. Since they are always so crowded, we decided to get food as soon as we got there. Devin and I shared kalua pig & bbq chicken. Yummy! We also got what we thought was coconut buns. Big mistake! It was simply the cinnamon rolls you buy in the can with coconut juice on it. I was expecting something similar to Papa's famous cocount buns. I guess his expertise can't be duplicated!

We watched some Polynesian dancing. It may be the pregnancy hormones, but I kinda got choked up watching the little kids dancing. I guess I imagined little Zander and future baby girl Merrill up there dancing with these groups. They'd probably be one of the little white kids you see amongst the brown ones, but hey - they are still part Polynesian. We watched some Filipino dancing for Devin. It was definitely a bit different. They danced Spanish influenced dances. It all seemed kinda hokey pokey to me, but I know Devin enjoyed it.

Enjoying the beautiful day

Can't you picture little Zander up there?

Filipino dancing

We didn't do a lot of shopping at the festival. They seem to have the same stuff each year. Devin was searching for a Filipino shirt, but couldn't find anything he liked. We did find some decorations for Zander's beach/surf room. We bought some real starfish and some netting which will go up on the wall.

All in all, the day was fun and we can't wait until next year!