The days are still warm, but the nights are longer and cooler. The autumn is here, but will fleet soon like the time does. With nobody else to hike with, we don't have to get up in the dim light, but woke up naturally today to a shining sun.  On the way to the hiking trail selected,  we saw a big poster, reminding us of an annual global festival in the county today, and we changed our mind and course.

 

The parking lot was still quite empty in the early morning, and we were among the first visitors to be shuttled to the festival site, right next to the civic center. We strolled through the big park, where people were busy setting up their merchants, food, souvenir on the stands canopied by tents.  The event would not formally kick off until 10 am, and we were more than half an hour earlier. Wandering around, we found a hiking trail close by, and the next hour found ourselves walking by a creek, a rare scene in the city of such a dry season. Ducks, birds, herons and turtle were basking in harmony, oblivious to the hiking or biking people on the bank, nor to the crowd gathering in the distance. 

 

The music afar beckoned us back to the festival after 10am. Lines were queued up for activities and gifts. We stopped by a platform, where Chinese dancers were performing after that of Persians'. The lively familiar music and vibrant performance carried me down my memory lane to the old time in China. The world is globalizing in every aspect. Without stepping outside of county,  we are exposed to the cultural displays ranging from American to Afraganistan, from Irish to Iraqi. Small the stands may look, they are like windows through which we are able to glimpse into a world of varied colors and exquisite arts.