Festival feast

Today we went to Belfast Mela, a four-stage event celebrating singers, dancers, and music from Pakistan, Bulgaria, Mexico, Africa--you name it.

This is the Bollywood Brass Band: "Four funky drummers and six hot horns play massive hits
from Indian films, all driven by the huge beat of the dhol drum."

I've never been anywhere as festival mad as here. All week long, the Open House festival has been on in Bangor (music, dance, historical tours), as well as the Clandeboye Festival (classical music at a country estate), and the Eastside Arts Festival, at which some guy named Van Morrison played last night. There's also events every weekend at the National Trust houses, the upcoming literary festival in Bangor, the Catherdral Arts Quarter and Festival of Fools festivals in Belfast in June, the Ards Peninsula art festival, an upcoming chocolate festival in Killyleagh, and the Donaghadee festival, which includes people flying over the harbor in man-made contraptions. I can't possibly keep up with it all. Bottom line: If we have a free day, I have no problem filling it.