Unity Day

    May First is Unity Day of the People of Kazakhstan.

Betcha didn't know Donald Duck was a people of Kazakhstan!

 

 

I left the apartment around 9:30 because the festivities were advertised to start at 10:00am.  The morning was clear and cool, if a bit hazy, promising to be a great day.  I decided to go to the festivities on the river instead of going downtown or to Khan Shatyr.  As I walked along the river there were people kayaking, some people at the man made beach were swimming, I saw a group of bicyclists getting ready for some kind of race and I could hear music. 

When I got to the festivities, the stage was empty, the music was canned, the booths were still being set up, workers were staining the benches and people were milling about.  I guess 10am was just a rough estimate.  So I walked around.  There is a monument to Kenesary Khan who fought against Russian encroachment in the 1830s and 1840s.  He was eventually killed in battle by the Russians. 

He's looking at the city and saying, "Look how my khanate has grown."

A music celebrity died on April 29.  His fans made a memorial at the base of Kenesary's monument.  Buses dropped off loads of kids, more people came and still the booths remained empty and the workers continued staining the benches.  I went home.  I walked through Central Park.  All I know about Central Park is it is a good place to cross country ski.  Since it was around 90 today, I did not see any cross country skiers.  I did see an amusement park with lots of families, runners, including one runner who was barefoot, bicyclists, and a man doing Tai Chi off the trail, his bike discarded under a tree.
Later I walked down to Khan Shatyr.  The festivities were about the same as for Nauryz.  A stage was set up and various performers sang.  Women and men in traditional costumes (which are beautiful, by the way) danced.  There was a dance troupe dancing to Michael Jackson's Beat It, but not in traditional costumes.  I wandered off to Asia Park, the third huge mall within a mile, then stopped at the mosque. Although there didn't seem to be many festivities going on, there was a festive atmosphere.  People seemed very happy, taking pictures of each other.  Many women were dressed to the nines.  There are supposed to be fireworks tonight.

All in all it was an interesting day.