I blame the goat
Aug. 4th, 2002 06:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tvordljYes... well... This weekend is a bank holiday weekend, celebrating Halifax's founding in 1749 (And Dartmouth's in 1750.... Halifax and Dartmouth are on either side of the harbour but are one all one political region). There are a lot of things going on, free music, regattas, road races... Anyway one of the popular events is the Bridge Walk. The harbour is spanned by two suspension bridges and the older one already has a pedestrian walkway and a bike lane on it. For this sunday, they close the bridge and have races on it earlier then let people walk across. There was a children's music duo at one end, with a great inflatable play station. On the other side a wandering dixie land jazz band and a van from a local radio station blaring out music as well. The view down the harbour is terrific and huge Canada flags flap overhead from the suspension towers like sheets on a clothesline.
Didn't seem as busy as other years when i strolled across but the Halifax parade was just finishing too which could explain it. I continued south towards the downtown (city center) where there was to be a Chicken and Goat Festival! No, it has nothing to do with Voodoo sacrifices as one young blade blithely suggested to me. It's sponsored by the owners of the neighbourhood African cafe and is held in the parking lot of the Business supply store next to it. They had a food tent, a bar, and lots of music and entertainment.
The festival was lots of fun, well perhaps not for the chickens and that goat that was foil wrapped and turning on the barbeque spit for feasting upon later tonight! I was pretty warm when i finally got there and the bar queue was short. I was going to have a beer when i saw they had ginger beer and thought that was more appropriate to the day. They had folding chairs lined up and i managed to get one to sit and have my drink. The ginger beer made my mouth tingle and burn a little but it seemed oddly refreshing just the same as i watched the dancing troop of children on the stage.
The queue for the food was pretty long so after a half hour's rest i figured i had better join it. By this time a drum expert was on stage, beating african rhythms on various types of drums. You couldn't help but move to the beat a little! There is a fairly good crowd of several hundred of different cultural backgrounds and all ages. The children especially are having a great time dancing wherever they happen to be standing, some ringing the stage and drumming it along with the indulgent entertainer. Some of the men and women are in bright African native costume, some children too, and some just have their hair up in wraps. Most are just in tshirts and shorts and basking under the sun. There isn't much shade here.
It takes me a good half hour to get to the front of the food line and what to choose! Well it has to be goat although they have both chicken and goat roti, curry, mutton, oxtail, plantain and more every day hotdogs and sausages. I opt for a bit of goat curry, a chicken wing and some salad. The curry is just the meat and a sauce and the meat is a little fatty but very tender. The curry was not gut wrenching tear inducing hot but had a wonderful flavour and provided a small amount of heat afterwards. The chicken was good too, barbeque spiced i think. I didn't have a lot because the sun tends to reduce my appetite. And because i had had a lot of sun and no place to sit after i got up for the food line up , i decided not to stay too much longer. My back was getting stiff from standing and my head a bit fuzzy from all the sun.
I would have liked to stay longer because the music alone was energizing and cheerful, most of it on tape that i was there for but later tonight i think there will be more of a dance and proper band as well. All in all an enjoyable afternoon just the same! I love this city!
Didn't seem as busy as other years when i strolled across but the Halifax parade was just finishing too which could explain it. I continued south towards the downtown (city center) where there was to be a Chicken and Goat Festival! No, it has nothing to do with Voodoo sacrifices as one young blade blithely suggested to me. It's sponsored by the owners of the neighbourhood African cafe and is held in the parking lot of the Business supply store next to it. They had a food tent, a bar, and lots of music and entertainment.
The festival was lots of fun, well perhaps not for the chickens and that goat that was foil wrapped and turning on the barbeque spit for feasting upon later tonight! I was pretty warm when i finally got there and the bar queue was short. I was going to have a beer when i saw they had ginger beer and thought that was more appropriate to the day. They had folding chairs lined up and i managed to get one to sit and have my drink. The ginger beer made my mouth tingle and burn a little but it seemed oddly refreshing just the same as i watched the dancing troop of children on the stage.
The queue for the food was pretty long so after a half hour's rest i figured i had better join it. By this time a drum expert was on stage, beating african rhythms on various types of drums. You couldn't help but move to the beat a little! There is a fairly good crowd of several hundred of different cultural backgrounds and all ages. The children especially are having a great time dancing wherever they happen to be standing, some ringing the stage and drumming it along with the indulgent entertainer. Some of the men and women are in bright African native costume, some children too, and some just have their hair up in wraps. Most are just in tshirts and shorts and basking under the sun. There isn't much shade here.
It takes me a good half hour to get to the front of the food line and what to choose! Well it has to be goat although they have both chicken and goat roti, curry, mutton, oxtail, plantain and more every day hotdogs and sausages. I opt for a bit of goat curry, a chicken wing and some salad. The curry is just the meat and a sauce and the meat is a little fatty but very tender. The curry was not gut wrenching tear inducing hot but had a wonderful flavour and provided a small amount of heat afterwards. The chicken was good too, barbeque spiced i think. I didn't have a lot because the sun tends to reduce my appetite. And because i had had a lot of sun and no place to sit after i got up for the food line up , i decided not to stay too much longer. My back was getting stiff from standing and my head a bit fuzzy from all the sun.
I would have liked to stay longer because the music alone was energizing and cheerful, most of it on tape that i was there for but later tonight i think there will be more of a dance and proper band as well. All in all an enjoyable afternoon just the same! I love this city!
