The Azalea Festival That Turned into a Flower Carnival

 Azalea Matsuri ( ツツジ まつり) in Higashi Village

 

Little did I know about how this event has grown, until yesterday.

The 15 photos posted here are just a sample of what may be seen this month.

 After leaving the Iris fields we decided to check on the azaleas in Higashi.

 To our surprise, the Azalea Festival had already begun.

It started looking like rain so, we made a quick camera tour through the place.

 When the wind starts blowing and it rains, I don't really want to shoot flowers.

 They look a lot better on a sunny, blue sky kind of day.

As long as I had to climb the hills, I figured, I should take some photos.

That way, you know, I really went up there.

One last shot with some grey sky and, I came up with an idea.

 

Keep the sky out of the frame, where I could.

A little bit peeked through, trying to make this composition.

Then another idea, popped into my head.

Get down low, someplace where the rocks block the breeze. 

Another trick was, get off the trails and find someplace where there was no wind.

Reds, pinks and whites seemed to be the most popular colors.

So, I tried to make sure, I got shots of all three.

I'm not much of a flower fanatic but, I know many people are.

We meandered down off the hills, taking photos out of the worst winds.

And, I took one last shot, before going into the festival food tents.

There, I got to sit down and have a hot meal and some warm tea.

You really don't want to see photos of that.

How Did a Flower Festival Become a Carnival ?

 

Well, it started on the 1st of the month and, lasts until the 23d.

They have all kinds of entertainment.

There's karate, marching bands, folk and popular music, magicians and comedians.

You could go dancing, drinking and shopping there.

They even have some kind of marathon, ending there !

Have a peek at the schedule on their website. 

The Google Translate feature might be helpful if you can't read Japanese.

My plan, is to wait a week or, two for the weather to warm up a bit.

Then, the place should be in full bloom and, a lot more beauties will be out up there.

More Info at Stripes Okinawa and Map It Okinawa