The Wat Florida Dhammaram Buddhist Meditation Center (2421 Old Vineland Road,
Kissimmee, FL
34746) hosted its 16th Annual Taste of Thailand Food Festival 2017. The event was a celebration full of fun and laughter, live entertainment and of course Yummy Thai Food, there were also displays of Thai culture, costumes and traditional Thai music.
Pam and I quickly wandered through the event and I settled on sketching this group of musicians as they performed on traditional Thai instruments. The performer on the large string instrument in the foreground unfortunately left as soon as I started sketching and he never returned. Thai music was soothing and meditative.
Once the sketch was done Pam and I went about the serious business of trying the Thai food available. Unfortunate many vendors started running out of food, so we didn’t try everything. We watched as a chef prepared a purple Thai pancake dish. I probably should have sketched because the preparations took quite some time.
The meditation Center itself is gorgeous with intricately carved details covered in gold. It had rained earlier in the day. It turned out that the spot where I parked was a mud puddle. My tired spun, kicking up mud when I tried to back out. Pam pushed the car as I drove. We gently rocked forward and back multiple times until the tire was free.
The $12 ticket price is well worth it if you go early since it is all you can eat. Be aware however that the food can run out quickly.