Animal fair

Bahrain had this really neat animal fair. Part pet show, part county fair, it was its own brand of familiar and totally new. I took Edward during the day and we got to look at all the animals. There were a lot of schools on field trips while we were there. This Bahrain girls school of fourth or fifth graders were there and the girls had gotten this great idea to buy pet baby chicks. The vendor didn't care, money is money, so each girl got her own small paper bag with air holes poked it and a baby chick. They were in this science exhibit room and they all had their bags, maybe sixty of them. Some had their chicks out and were just man-handling the poor things to death. Like that monster that cuddles Bugs Bunny? I was a little intrigued and horrified! What were their parents going to do with those chicks when they got home? If they made it that long after being so loved! Luckily another white lady decided to go on a crusade and I overheard her talking to the event organizers about the importance of not selling animals to school children. My moral responsibility to baby chicks was relieved, so we went and caught the mascot show, where after 45 minutes of singing and dancing in Arabic, the audience was invited onstage with the mascot boy, girl, fish, chicken and cow to dance, sing and wave Bahraini flags while confetti cannons showered us. It was a lot of fun. We saw more cows, sheep, chickens, camels, horses, goats, birds, cats and dogs. Then got face paint and a twisty balloon, took the mini train around and then headed home. That night we went back with the whole family for the horse show. They started out by showing some of the finest Arabians in Bahrain then they had this incredible performance by  these Andalusian horses. They jumped in the air and kicked, danced, raised their legs, it was incredible the amount of control and training. It was really beautiful. It was such a fun family event. And free, free, free!