Daffodil Festival this weekend!

Having lived in Meriden my entire life (I was even born here in the old hospital!), the Daffodil Festival is a pretty big deal to me. I love it. It reminds me of childhood. And home. Because it IS home. And no other fairs or festivals can really compare - it's an entire weekend at Hubbard Park, when the daffodils are in bloom. And there's a whole lot of them. I don't know the estimate, but signs there are sure to brag about how many thousands of daffodils are in the park. Aside from being beautiful, there's a ton of things to see and do - there are a ton of food vendors in the food tent, rides, games and even a craft fair. Another bonus: there's free admission and free parking - something a lot of local fairs and festivals don't do.

Then there's the live music. I remember the days when a big headliner would come - like the Nashville Country Star winner or Eric Burdon and the Animals - but .because of budget constraints, there are now smaller acts, but that's not a bad thing either. Some of these smaller bands make it big - MGMT played the Daffodil Festival back in the day, and I'm kicking myself for not seeing them since I was probably in the park at the time. The New Haven Advocate actually printed an article recently about the Daffodil music: Flower Power: Local bands bloom at Meriden’s Daffodil Festival.

So here are the details so you can get here yourself:

Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
10 a.m. food tent, rides and craft fair open.
11 a.m. music entertainment begins.
11:30 a.m. parade begins (This is a lot of fun! I used to march in it.)
Fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m.

Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
10 a.m. food tent, rides and craft fair open.
11 a.m. music entertainment begins.

"All Shuttle Buses will pick-up and drop-off riders at Platt High School, 220 Coe Ave. Wilcox Technical School 298 Oregon Road, Westfield Meriden 470 Lewis Avenue and Downtown Meriden HUB 88 State Street," according to the Web site, and parking is free. Shuttle runs Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The buses are also running until 9 after the fireworks.

For more information and a music schedule, go to the Daffodil Festival website yourself: http://daffodilfest.com/

(Photo above from Thundafunda Free Online Photos)

Sakimura with my parents

My family went to Sakimura (Saki Mura? It's spelled one way on their sign and another on their website) in Meriden tonight for my parents' 26th anniversary. I've now experienced hibachi with every possible party you can think of - church groups, girl friends, dates, and now family. On a date, it's OK, as long as you're not the only ones at your table, and I mean the only ones. Yes, that's happened to me. Actually, going out to a hibachi restaurant with your family is the ideal situation. It was our first time going as a family, and we all had a great time. I'm 21, and my brother's 17, so going out as a family isn't the same as back in the day when we could go to Chuck E. Cheese's and be amused for hours. Hibachi is perfect for parents and their older children. Conversation is cut to a minimum while everyone is entranced in the hibachi chef's work. But there's still family bonding as we lean over to whisper our amazement. Also, we had fun with trying to catch flying zucchini in our mouths and watching the chef squirt a shot of sake into my dad's mouth.

Sakimura in Meriden, so far, is the best hibachi restaurant I've been to, mainly for the great deal you get with a meal. The chefs are entertaining, as usual, which is an added bonus, but you get more for your money with the food. A hibachi dinner comes with miso soup, salad, fried rice, noodles, vegetables and your entree. And it's a ton of food. For $24, I got steak and scallops, and it was delicious. The last time I went to Sakimura, I remember there being noodles listed as part of the dinner on the menu. However, this time it wasn't, but we still got noodles, which was a pleasant surprise. They were fried with a great garlic flavor. They cook your steak to order, and while I got regular steak and my brother ordered filet mignon, I just as happy with my steak as he was with his filet. We got a good serving of vegetables and heaping piles of noodles and fried rice. We boxed our leftovers, which we inevitably had, and left extremely content.