Malott Japanese Garden Children's Festival

5/17/08

We enjoyed the lovely Spring weather today at the Chicago Botanic Gardens.  The air was warm and breezy and scented with lilac.  

What a cute family I have!

The crabapple trees were in full bloom throughout the gardens.  I love seeing flowering trees in the spring time.  It reminds me of the Japanese Flowering Cherry trees on Matheson back home in Healdsburg.  

Max had quite a fan club with some Japanese tourists at this point.  

The Malott Japanese Garden Children's Festival was going on.  In Japan, May 5th is Happiness of Children Day.  There were a ton of fun crafts and activities for the kids.  They made Kabuto: origami samurai helmets, Koinobori: carp kites, and kimono paper dolls.  Then they heard the storyteller, Anne Shimojima, tell traditional Japanese tales such as The Man With the Bump, Why Jellyfish Have No Bones, etc.