[OPEN] FLOWER FESTIVAL

[cordibus]

Who: Open Log (All)
Where: Point-à-Tarte
Summary: A festival of flowers.
Warnings: N/A

" Ah... the Festival of Flowers while a dreadful deadline looms! Enjoy what normal life you may have left...soon you may long for the return of these simpler times..."

A week of celebration (General Prompt)

At Point-à-Tarte, at the edge of the largest park in Eddan, booths that have been worked on for the past week are finally being opened to the public. Colorful banners decorate every single tree and and even the dullest of areas are covered up in the most creative of ways.

The booths themselves have everything one could hope in a flower festival, from mountains of flower crowns and necklaces being given to every resident of Eddan for free to the flower-shaped candy to the city-approved businesses touting the latest and greatest of the upcoming flower technology. New flowers, some supposedly glowing under UV light and others made to look like galaxies, are being sold at eye-popping prices.

The food, as always, is delicious and fresh, with early spring greens and even flowers themselves being added to salads. The only negative to the entire festival (if one can call it that) are the giant counters displaying the remaining time before sunset that serve as a reminder of Eddan's strange nature.

Opening Ceremonies (Special Prompt)

Sunday's opening sees the release of over ten thousand 'floating' seeds into the wind, a promise from the city to continue to make Eddan the greenest city in the entire world. Each person coming to the festival is given tulip bulbs in a variety of colors to be taken home.

The mayor takes time to speak about the recent string of murders and assures the people that they city shall continue to be vigilant to make sure that its citizens are kept safe. This is greeted with cheers from most of the population. Even the rainy weather doesn't keep such a happy day down!

An hour before sunset, the opening ceremonies close with a fireworks show. Due to the fact that they must be released only during the day, the explosive components have been changed as to give the night varieties a run for their money.

As the bright lights fill the sky, those soon-to-be-Awakened may have a flash of a memory from their past lives, such as a happy moment they spent with someone close to them or a moment of glory. This will soon be drowned out by ringing in their ears. For a few, brief seconds, they may notice figures close by glow oddly, their forms becoming distorted, but before they realize what has happened, blinking returns their vision to normal.

The headache, however, lingers until bedtime.

Weekly contest (week prompts)

Royal Mount opens its WonderWorld Park to the public on Monday. For its opening week during the festival, the rides are all free.

Green Valley Organizes a flower judging contest for the various schools on Wednesday. Students are asked to present their most beautiful and unique flowers. Flower arrangements are also judged and with prizes evaluated at over 20 000 Macca, the stakes are high!

Eastmount offers rides in flower-shaped carriages driven by mechanical horses that could almost pass off as the real thing. (Though it is only the latest technology, thus keeping the entire thing animal cruelty free!)

The Giant Float Parade on Friday afternoon travels around the vast forest of Point-à-Tarte. Each school has been encouraged to enter its cheerleaders and theater productions into the parade. The Flower King and Queen greet visitors at the very end, throwing little presents for the children.

The festival continues until Saturday Nightfall. The schools visit the festival in turn, sometimes for education courses about the various flowers and trees that dot Eddan's landscape, sometimes to show off flower and plant-based sculptures that the various clubs have worked hard on.

Comments

[sociallyarcward]

John looked around, but smiled when he caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd. "Ciro," he called back, crossing over to him. He headed over to him, only just then picking up on the fact that Ciro was wearing something a little less than casual.

"Hey man, looks like you guys are drawing in quite the crowd. I'm guessing you're working, right," he asks, gesturing at the getup.

[kokuyoyo]

"I hope we've drawn in enough of a crowd." He grins dryly. "Everyone had to wake up early and then come running over here to make sure that everything was set up. I didn't even bother to put on a different pair of clothes, just came here in this."

Which was... fun. Yeah. The messages on that app really came at an inopportune time. He's running on fumes and caffeine.

"So I guess you're going to be helping your family out later instead of right away, huh?"

[sociallyarcward]

"Looks pretty crowded to me," John remarked, looking around at the gathered people. Everyone was usually pretty supportive of anything put on by the school, so John felt pretty comfortable that the garden club would have no trouble getting the recognition they deserved out of this.

He nodded, "Mom wanted me to enjoy the festival the first few days. The later half of the festival is when I'm scheduled to work...though I did a lot of pre-festival prep too of course." It helped that he hadn't been able to sleep much anyway. It gave him something to work on AND it made his mom think he had circles under his eyes from this and not...other things.

"You need help with anything around here or does the club mostly have it handled?"

[kokuyoyo]

"Well, it's not like there's any shortage of things to do here." He grinned a little. "Stores, games.... We're not the only ones who've been trying to draw in a lot of support and went in hard because of it." Although he had to wonder how much sleep other groups had and if any of them had any better luck... Or was that just him?

Well, it didn't really matter. He leaned slightly against part of the booths that had been set up outside the cafe portion of their area, and tilted his head to John. "Do you have any plans for your days of freedom, then?"

[sociallyarcward]

True enough. The festival was a time to 'go big or go home' so to speak. Everyone went all out and usually the sleepless nights were worth it. Of course, now John had other things on his mind, but like most of the others he wasn't going to let that slow him down for the time being.

"Ah...I wanted to check out the new park since its supposed to be free rides this week. But aside from that I guess the usual festival stuff: check out the parade on Friday and the different booths some of my friends are working."

"Do you have any down time or are you working most of it?"

[kokuyoyo]

Ciro nodded along with the plans. New park, huh? He'd heard about that- kind of hard not to. Not only were there the ads everywhere, but plenty of other kids in class had been buzzing about it especially for the free week. "I'd go myself, but I think I'm going to be too exhausted to enjoy it fully.. I'll just wait for a deal or something before going with someone." It'd likely be Asher or another friend, but hey. Better than going alone, right?

"There's going to be a few times when I'm exchanging my shift with someone, so I won't be trapped forever... Just a lot of the time." He laughed quietly to himself. "But I don't have any big plans outside of the contest and helping with the float. I am curious about some of the plants other stalls will be selling- I want to find more flowers that won't set off Gen's allergies."

[sociallyarcward]

"Hey, maybe they'll be doing giveaways for free passes there. If I see some I'll try to snag some for you," Jaune said. It wasn't unheard of for the festival to have promotions like that. One year he and his mom had the idea to pass out stamp cards at the festival for customers to try and earn a free order of beignets. Maybe they should have done that again this year, as it had been very popular, but it was a little late to be making those decisions now.

"But at least you won't have to work the whole week--it's good to get to experience the festival too. I'm sure if anywhere is going to have plants that are easier for allergies it will be here."

[kokuyoyo]

Perking up a little, he said, "Really? Thanks- you don't have to go to the trouble if it ends up being too much." After all, while they were nice to each other, and John tutored him, Ciro knew that they weren't the most closest of friends. That was how it was for him and most people, actually, but that was a thought he did his best not to really dwell on. The point was that he was sure there were plenty of other people closer to him that would love to have passes like that, and who'd be worth the effort.

[sociallyarcward]

That may be true, but no one else had really brought it up. Besides, John wasn't 100 percent sure of that either, it could just be a rumor. But, he also doesn't think about things like that: ranking friendships and things like that. Whether they met through tutoring or that's all they really hang out for, John doesn't think of Ciro any less than he does most of his other friends, except those perhaps really close to him.

"We'll just see what happens, okay?" Is all he says about that.

[kokuyoyo]

"Still..." Left without too much to say, he floundered for a second. "Thanks." A little awkwardly, he gestured to the cafe. "Do you want to sit for a while? I can get you something to drink if you want, unless you really wanted to go check out the rest of the food stalls first."

[sociallyarcward]

"No...I can hang for a bit," John replies. He moves forward, looking around at the cafe's set up and all the work that had been put into it. "Wow, it really looks good. So what kind of drinks are you guys serving?" He looks around and grabs one of the empty tables -- though they seem to be filling up fast. He knows how that can be and hopes he isn't taking away from Ciro's work.

[kokuyoyo]

Well, the whole idea was to pull the chair out for their customers... But since they knew each other, Chikusa guessed it didn't matter too much. Since he still was 'on the clock', he didn't take a seat but stayed standing. "Oh, we have a few things, but the main attraction we're supposed to sell are floral-infused drinks like lattes and appleade. The latter is especially good if you're not one for coffee." He tilted his head to the side, considering. "Ah, but it can be pretty sweet."

[sociallyarcward]

John considers his options. He does like sweets, but he has a feeling after the festival he might be tired of them. Besides, given the lack of sleep and what lies ahead---maybe he should just go for the coffee option. "I'll take a latte then," he says aloud, offering a smile. "I could use the caffeine."

[kokuyoyo]

"One lavender latte, then, coming up." With a grin, he jotted it down before taking his leave, disappearing over to their kitchen area that they've managed to set up. It's not the most private affair, but with all the bustle, well, that works pretty much like a wall anyway. It doesn't take long before he's coming back with a mason jar-type glass on a tray. "Here you go. Let me know what you think."

From the bottom, a milky pale pink rises up to blend perfectly into the warm brown of coffee. What really stands out, however, are the small stalks of lavender lounging straight inside the drink as if they belong there as much as the straw does.

[sociallyarcward]

While Ciro goes to get his order, John leans back and does some people watching. It's still early in the week and already the crowds are building. Although it's not surprising considering this is one of the biggest festivals they have--everyone goes all out.

He turns his attention back when he hears Ciro request his opinion and sets the drink before him. He blinks--he knows it was a lavender latte but the actual lavender stalks in it are a surprise. "Oh! Neat! That's a nice touch," he says, understanding that presentation can be half the battle with food service. He picks it up and takes a drink. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it's definitely interesting--the floral notes of the lavender piercing even through the strong coffee taste. "It's different...I don't think I've ever had flowers in my coffee before."

[kokuyoyo]

Patiently, he waits to hear the verdict. The day is still young and while they've got quite a few customers, well, it's not enough for him to decisively say how well everything is going to be taken by the public. For him if no one else in the GVGC.

"Well, we are the gardening club..." His mouth twitches slightly in a smile. "The floral taste is supposed to help it make it more appealing to people who might not normally have coffee, make it a little lighter. If that makes sense?"

[sociallyarcward]

"And this is the Flower Festival...I know...but still. I guess I don't think much about drinks much," Jaune said. True they had basic beverages at the cafe, but the French Horn was more about food than drinks, they weren't a coffee house after all.

He nods at Ciro's explanation, "No, it makes sense. I mean, I actually like coffee, but I can see where this would be appealing to others who maybe weren't such big fans." He takes another sip, enjoying the taste once more. It was definitely interesting and something he would have to recommend to others to check out.

[kokuyoyo]

Considering John is still drinking it with no bad responses, Ciro will take this as a victory, and his small smile is a little more relaxed. "It came up when we were talking about what else is edible besides the usual produce. One internet search lead to another, and..."

He gestures slightly to the cafe.

"Here we are."

[sociallyarcward]

John listens, drinking his coffee in the meantime. "Wow. Who knew. Most people would just go with your typical plants like mint or something...but using other plants is actually pretty clever."

"I think you guys will do a lot of business once more people find out about the unique flavors offered. The festival is going to be interesting to see pan out." He made a mental note to stop by later in the week to see how business was going. He's pretty certain that things will pick up though, not that they're exactly slow right now either.

[kokuyoyo]

"I hope so. If nothing else, a sizable amount of people will want to try for the novelty, right?" He shrugs, although John's prediction has given him a little bit of hope. If anyone would know about this kind of thing, it's the person working at a restaurant.

"Anyway, I should go make sure everything is fine up front- if you need anything, just let me know, alright?"

[sociallyarcward]

Jaune nods, "I think that'll attract more people than you think." Novelty goes a long way at the festival. He nods when Ciro says he has to go.

"I understand...go do your thing." He'll finish his drink and then pay for it. He likes the cafe, but there is a lot to see and since he has to work later in the week he knows he needs to enjoy the various booths and stands while he can.