It was a cloudy day hinting of rain, but the 31st Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival of Boston was still on, so I headed out yesterday afternoon in order to cheer on my friend and her light blue t-shirt clad team. After rushing over in order to not miss her race, we ended up waiting on the Western Avenue bridge for well over half an hour as the schedule kept getting back logged. But it was still entertaining watching as the various other teams slowly stroked their way from the boat launching area by the Weeks Pedestrian Bridge, on the Storrow Drive side of the river, towards Boston to the starting position on the near side of the River Street bridge, only to race back in their groups of two or three.
Finally, we spotted her team paddling their way towards the starting line, and shortly thereafter a whole crowd rushed on to the bridge that we recognized as fellow cheerers of the same team. After the three dragon boats raced out from under our bridge, we sprinted to the pier to greet them as they returned wet and happy from their trip.
Okay, once the excitement was over, it was time to peruse the tents on the Memorial side of the river. A large white tent housed a stage with a row after row of chairs for a sizeable audience. I spotted bits of two different acts - one where white dressed children broke wooden boards with ease, and the second of a small group of musicians with their Chinese instrument (erhu, I believe?).
Another tent housed crafts and tables with hand-outs of information or prizes. Set along the road (which was closed to traffic for the afternoon) were samples of Dunkin Donuts and a fruity water, and vendors with food for sale ranging from Indian and Thai and Chinese to Italian. There was also a slide set up on a truck where little kids could race against the clock to see how fast they could slide down three times. One little boy grabbed the pole with his inside hand as he launched himself off the last step, so that he'd fly into a 180 degree turn that landed him on his trip down the slide.
While mulling over whether or not to pick up a bag of Kettlecorn, one of the many vendors suddenly caught my eye... Cindy's Planet! Previously located in a small spot in Chinatown, it had disppeared a few years ago. In fact, some of us still call Royal Palace II (popped up in that same spot) "Cindy's Planet." Where are they now? Salem! Not only that, besides the photos of bubble teas and fish balls on a stick, there was an intriguing sign declaring "Deep fried Oreos - 6 for $3.50." Seriously? You can get a whole pack of Oreos for $2 from CVS or the market when they're on sale, but those aren't deep-fried...
They fried up a batch fresh for me, sprinkled on some powdered sugar, and handed them over. Hot, puffy, softened inside, sweet. A little much, but still a fun treat.
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