It's a Dog's World

These dogs were strutting their stuff for the judges

The show was winding down when we got there

It's funny the things you just happen upon. Sunday afternoon, Tom and I drove to a park just outside of Rauma to check out some tennis courts. The parking lot was filled, and we could see tents and trailers. We thought it must be a flea market.

Just beautiful!

Wrong! It was a dog show. As in a Westminster-type, judging dogs of all breeds show. It was so funny, because we never expected to see something like this in Rauma. Especially outside on a dirt field. They had chalk lines drawn in the dirt to separate judging areas. It was sunny but chilly, and lots of the dogs, especially the hairless ones, were actually shivering and had their tails tucked under their legs. Some had on coats. One poodle actually had leg warmers!

There was one spectacular white poodle perched on a table in a tent. I had to take a picture, so I asked the owner, who thankfully spoke good English, if it was okay. I asked her if the dog was a "he." She replied, "Yes, it's a "he," but he looks like a "she!"

Dogs in strollers!

Can he see me?

We got to pet a lot of the dogs -- the owners were very nice, even though most didn't speak English. One of my favorites was a Greyhound, who just loved the attention. I've heard retired Greyhounds make excellent pets. Hint, hint.

Today, I Googled the dog show, and it was a pretty big two-day event, attracting show dogs from all over. The Best-in-Show winner was a beautiful Afghan hound. I wish we had known about it earlier, because I would like to have seen the beagles on Saturday, since we had a beagle for 10 years. 

Taking a break after a hard day's work

In other exciting Rauma news, last Tuesday was May Day, which is a national holiday in Finland. Stores are closed, many people have the day off, and there is a parade to celebrate the end of winter and the unofficial beginning of spring. So we walked downtown to see this parade, which we were expecting to be filled with floats, bands, clowns, etc., just like the parades back home. Ha! This parade first featured over 300 motorcycles!

I've mentioned the annoying motorbikes that teenagers zip around town on, and apparently, the noise gets really bad in summer, when they are riding around at all hours, what with the long days of sunlight. Anyway, Tom found out that most motorcycle owners put their bikes away for winter and don't pay insurance while they are sitting in the garages, so May Day is the first day the insurance kicks in, and everyone takes their bikes out for that first ride. Very bizarre.

Motorcycle Mania on May Day

The marching band

After the motorcycles, a few old-timey cars passed by, then came one group of cheerleaders and one marching band from the local music school. Also, we saw lots of people wearing these strange-looking white mariner caps. We also found out that people wearing these hats graduated from high school in Rauma. This year's upcoming graduates all gather together at the end of the parade to put their hats on a statue, and one student is thrown into the canal. We didn't stick around for that part of it (it was too cold and windy, even though it was a beautiful sunny day).

I know that if visitors from Finland came to Concord, North Carolina, they would be amused by life in our town, too. But it's great that everyone has their own traditions, and we are lucky to get a glimpse of them.


And I want to go to the next dog show that comes to town!

This fellow wasn't in the dog show, but he could have been!

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/103069509757300719995/albums/5739661458513461361