I love/criticize the Buddhist Bazaar

 First of all I love the Buddhist Bazaar and this year is the 80th year of it!! Amazing. Started in 1946. Just imagine what 1946 was like for our Sacramento Japanese-American community. And yet they started this celebration.

Secondly, I find it depressing that the Bazaar is still on it's post-Covid, one-day schedule. To me it has an outsized significance in making it feel like Covid is not totally over and the stain of it still lingers. And of course it does linger, it so many ways, but this is an in-your-face sign for me. It seems obvious and also I've had it confirmed that this is about how  many volunteers it takes to put this thing on. So whether it's volunteers who passed, or just the nature of our post-Covid society that people don't help as much or whatever, it's stayed at one day. 

I am so grateful it happens at all, but boy is it crowded with one day. And also, I don't like their new ordering system. You used to queue up at each booth for the food offered there. One advantage to that is that you could go for the less popular dishes and not wait. I barely ever even tasted the teriyaki chicken for this reason. And I swear, didn't they used to have tempura? I don't know, because if I'm right about that, the line was too freaking long and I never tried it! The move used to just be udon, and something else random that didn't have a line, to not wait at all. Now there is a giant line outside for the chicken and outside stuff, and a not-quite-as-giant line inside for the sushi, onigiri and udon.

This year there are "street food" additions to the menu: takoyaki and okonomiyaki and furikkake fries. I want to go on record saying I am not a huge okonomiyaki fan, takoyaki would be fun to have though. 

Again, love this fest it's the best, and you know where there are rarely lines? The beer and sake, I love this booth staffed by jovial dads. I see there is a premium sake flight available after 3pm. Intriguing.

It's gonna be hot AF in that tent so dress as if you are in Japan (linen maybe?)

By the way, I am putting my money where my mouth is and volunteering for cleanup this year, starting at 7am on Sunday. Last year I volunteered for setup and showed up at 7am Saturday and they were like "we got the setup done last night" so I just went home. 

PPS-I was at Oto's getting a bento the other day and I saw a guy with 4 teriyaki beef sandwiches. Oto's has sandwiched? How do you get them?