A taste of Thai for Reagan Trail Days

By Olivia Cobiskeyocobiskey@svnmail.com800-798-4085, ext. 535

DIXON - Reagan Trail Days added a little Kra Thlam, or Thai garlic, for flavor this year. Dancers from the Thai Cultural and Fine Arts Institute of Chicago, wearing traditional Thai dress, entertained attendees while they tickled their taste buds with Thai cuisine. Shoppers contemplated handcrafted items from Thailand while watching as Muey Thai kickboxers sparred. "This is truly a place to come home to," Chicago's Thai Consul General Narong Sasitorn said of Dixon as he thanked Dixon Main Street, the city of Dixon, the Chamber of Commerce, Dixon Tourism and Somkit Yindeeroop, owner of Touch of Thai restaurant, for organizing the festival. "We are very proud and honored to do something with the citizens of Dixon." Sasitorn said that Ronald Reagan was well respected by people around the world. "I'm very blessed that we are having the very first Thai Festival in Dixon during the Reagan Trail Days." It was the perfect year for a Thai connection, said Dixon Mayor Jim Burke. It was 125 years ago that President Andrew Jackson sent a delegation to Siam, now Thailand, to sign a treaty and exchange gifts, making Thailand the United States' oldest ally in Asia. Burke, who will be traveling to Kenya next month to sign an agreement with Thika, hinted at a future sister city in Thailand after he presented Sasitorn with a blanket featuring Dixon's memorials.

Bicycle ride today The final day of Reagan Trail Days features the Ronald Reagan Heritage Bicycle Ride, which starts at 7 a.m. today from Page Park in Dixon. Registration is from 6 to 10 a.m., and the first riders are expected to leave at 7 a.m. Riders will be given a map and allowed to tour one of five trailways. Rest stops with food and drinks will be provided along the routes, all of which return to Page Park, where a pork chop barbecue lunch will be served.