All That Glitters

FOLKSY: Over the weekend, I posted videos of Annabelle and friend Bollywood dancing at Folklife Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

But let me tell you, there is MUCH more to Folklife than elementary-aged kiddos jumping around in costumes. We'd never been before, so I had no idea what a Big Honking Deal it was. Tens of thousands of people crowd the entire Seattle Center campus. It's wall to wall hippies, I tell you! ;)

Founded in 1972, according to their Web site, today, the four-day Festival attracts about 250,000 visitors and has over 6,000 volunteer performers and 800 volunteers.

While Bee was practicing for her flash mob in a rehearsal room in the Center House on Saturday, CJ and I "roamed" the grounds (I limped miserably through throngs of people), taking in some sights.

Just south of the Center House we encountered a golden alien/performance artist. CJ thought he was pretty cool.

After that, we wandered over to the Fisher Pavilion, where CJ did some square dancing. He never really did get the promenade thing down ...

Then, we limped on over to the International Fountain. There, on the north lawn, we found the Rhythm Tent, where there were dozens of big drums and chairs awaiting. CJ sidled up to one and partook of a percussion workshop until it was time to go see Bee's performance. 

ACTING UP: For the past two days we've been practicing and practicing and practicing CJ's play. He has his lines down pretty much, but he could still use some work on his projection. Hopefully it all comes together for him tomorrow, as that's when he's performing his play, twice. The first time is in the afternoon for a small, private school group. Tomorrow night is the performance for the families - at least that should be a pretty easy crowd.

MAKE UP: The kids did a TON of science homework this morning. All of the in class lab sheets and homework assignments they missed in the two weeks of class. One of their worksheets required them to go on a field trip looking for different kinds of insects. Since I'm hobbled, they were on their own. They roamed the alley, and found a few roly poly bugs,

EGYPTIAN EXHIBIT: This afternoon, it was our long-awaited chance to go see "Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs" at the Pacific Science Center.


Unfortunately, my visit to the exhibit would have to wait. No way did I want to struggle around priceless ancient artifacts with crutches and a walking cast. I could just picture myself stumbling into one of the displays and creating an international incident. So, Rick went in my stead. I'll go later with Kennedy.

Per Pacific Science Center's Web site, "The exhibition features more than 100 objects from King Tut's tomb and ancient sites representing some of the most important rulers throughout 2,000 years of ancient Egyptian history." The exhibition has twice as many artifacts and the original Tut exhibit that visited Seattle in 1978 - I remember it well!

Here are some photos Christian took.

Though it's hard to gauge scale here, this is the Colossal Statue of Amenhotep IV. Made of sandstone, it's from the East Temple of Gempaaten, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Akhenten (1372-1335 BCE). Christian said it was impressive - about 10 to 12 feet tall.

Here's a stunning shot of the golden mask of Psusennes I. The sign on the display explained that the mask was found over the head and part of the shoulders of Psusennes' mummy. Apparently the beard is an indication of his royalty and godly status and the use of gold, considered "the flesh of the gods," reaffirmed his divinity in the afterlife.

And here's a spectacular shot of the coffinette that held King Tut's stomach. We're going to have to read up on why they removed the organs and placed them in their own special burial vessels.

This artifact isn't entirely intact, but it is enormous! A 10-foot tall statue of Tut.

And we can't forget this relic. Can you guess what that this is? ...

That's right - it's an ancient toilet seat!