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SHINE, an all-female drumming and dance group, start the Glow all night art festival with a performance on Palisades Park and down the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, July 19, 2008.  GLOW is presented by the City of Santa Monica in partnership with Bayside District Corporation, Pier Restoration Corporation and the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Inspired by the wildly successful Nuit Blanche in Paris, Glow is made possible through the support of generous sponsorship from organizations like the Norton Family Foundation.  The event takes its spirit from the fabled grunions that live in local waters and come ashore several times a year to spawn in the sand creating a momentary sensation of iridescence.

Viver Brasil processes to the ocean with live drumming, lively movement and song during the closing event to GLOW Art Festival at on Sunday, July 20, 2008. The ceremony celebrated life and power of the ocean and honored the beauty of the Afro-Brazilian salty and sweet water spirits, bearing gifts of white and yellow flowers presented to the goddesses, Yemanja and Oxum.

Falun Gong practitioners  play the waist drums and perform the sword dance at Palisades Park during  World Falun Dafa Day on Sunday, May 11, 2008. Falun Gong (also called Falun Gong, or just Dafa) teaches truth, compassion and tolerance, an exercise practice for the body and mind.  While the exercises have deep inner meanings, they also help to reduce stress and can bring great improvements in health and fitness. 

The Tourism Malaysia Los Angeles Cultural Troupe perform  at the Third Street Promenade during the 'Taste of Malaysia' on Sunday, May 11, 2008.  Taste of Malaysia is a day celebrating the delicious food and colorful culture of Malaysia.

(above) Chef Mior pours Teh Tarik (pulled tea) during Taste of Malaysia at the Third Street Promenade on Sunday, May 11, 2008. Teh Tarik is the national drink of Malaysia. In Malaysia, there are also occasions where Teh Tarik brewers gather for competitions and performances to show their skills in making this drink. This tea is special in that it is prepared using a unique technique. The tea is poured from a hand held high into a container held in a hand below. The tea is poured back and forth in this manner to create a thick froth. Aside from cooling down the tea to drinking temperatures, it is believed that this method mixes the tea with the condensed milk more thoroughly. Chef Mior has competed and won many Teh Tarik competitions in Malaysia and showcased his talents in several Asian countries, Australia, the Middle East and the UK.  (top) Chef Mior tosses and flips the Roti Canai, Malaysia version of the pankake, during Taste of Malaysia.