Looking at Ann-Christine’s post for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, I can tell you I am not a goer or a participant of such events. I am an introvert and do not typically fare well in crowded situations such as a street market or a festival. Still, I think I have a couple photos and stories to share this week’s challenge. Hope you enjoy.

This year was my first time to attend the Colonial Heritage Festival – a festival that’s all about colonial America. It was surprising to visit 18th century America and learn about history via storytelling. The festival has been dubbed the largest colonial festival in the western US and I was so glad that it’s so close to where I live. I will definitely be attending this festival in 2026 for the United States’ 250th birthday.

To read more about my experience at this festival, you can click to read this post here.

When I was growing up in China, this was a typical grocery store. Vegetables would be laid on the ground or on a tarp while live poultry such as chickens and ducks would be kept in cages, waiting to be slaughtered.

I’ve always hated going to the market. The smell, the environment, and the darkness made me want to turn and run. I never knew of a market where vegetables would be neatly stacked on the shelf and meat would be nicely cut and wrapped with plastic wrap until the first time my mom returned to China after almost 3 years in the U.S.

During my visit to China in 2017, my aunt took me on a stroll down memory lane. We were heading to the elementary school I attended when we passed by this market. It’s the same one that made me want to run as a child but now, it’s different. There’s no roof and no longer dark but the dank smell of live poultry still lingered. I don’t think I will shop here.

Let’s end this post on a happier note. Tulip Festival! It’s another festival I would not miss next year. It’s a festival that’s dedicated to the tulips and other bulb flowers. This festival usually draws a crowd but the place’s big enough that I don’t feel crowded at all. It’s definitely an excellent to spend a spring day.