Yesterday Pat and I had a great time at a harvest festival, at which we heard more Russian than English. Some of you will guess where it is. I’ll reveal it near the bottom.
There was some re-enactment, but this family and others just came for the festivities.
Same girl, huge eucalyptus:
All ages of Russians were there:
Most of the young ones were quite attractive:
Two groups of singers alternated in the chapel:
Saucy lass:
These young people are make piroshkis and singing Russian songs:
Doctor Zhivago, I presume:
Weaving baskets:
Lighting an old samovar:
There you have it, Fort Ross, colonized by otter hunters at the northernmost end of the Spanish California around 1812. The otters were hunted to extinction in 5 years but the Russians turned to shipbuilding and trading. We think most of those speaking Russian yesterday came to the Bay Area after the fall of communism.
Nice coastal scenery
