The weather was wonderfully sunny and clear to celebrate the Year of the Rooster in Chinatown. It was perfect to allow all the performers to strut their stuff, fluff their feathers, dance their steps - and the Lion dancers, the Chinese fan dancers, the martial artists, and the Brazillian dancers all did just that! Fantastic. This was the first time in many years that I attended the annual Chinatown parade - and it was the biggest I had ever seen. The parade began at the Millenium Gate and proceeded up Pender St. to Gore - turning south to Keefer, then proceeding back to Carrall St. where the performers ended up in the courtyard of the Chinese Cultural Centre.
I saw Brazillian dancers, Martial artists, chinese fan dancers, Lion Dancers, lots of dragons, the Carnaval Band, the Dragon Boat Association even put a teak dragon boat on a trailer and decorated it. It was led by my friend and dragon boat coaching cohort Bob Brinson. Earlier on Saturday he phoned me and asked where he could buy chinese drums. Upon my advice, he went to Dragon Martial Arts on Pender Street and purchased two smaller sized drums to create a "drum set" for the dragon boat. Very unique - very outside the box! Way to go Bob!
After watching the parade, my girlfriend and I went to Tinsel Town for some food and to check out what was going on there. It was the busiest I had ever seen Tinsel Town. Lots of booths set up like a bazzaar. We ate chinese combination plates, then watched the show below from the 2nd floor. It was then that I was approached by a family that had attended last year's Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner at Flamingo restaurant, but couldn't attend this year's dinner at Floata. They asked questions about this year's dinner, detailing how much they enjoyed the 2004 dinner. It is always great to recieve such enthusiastic feedback about the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinners.
Deb and I next wandered past the booths in Tinsel town exploring all the Chinese New Year specials. I bought some Karaoke DVD's... "Karaoke! exclaimed Deb. You're going to do Karaoke?" "Yes, I smiled - perfect for our dragon boat team parties and the the Gung Haggis Fat Choy volunteer appreciation party coming up."
We wandered up Keefer St. to Main St. Lion dancers and firecrackers were still in action, visiting all the stores in Chinatown, accepting offerings of lettuce and li-see (lucky money red envelopes). We went to Bamboo Villiage to purchase a bamboo tea kettle handle for her tea pot. I checked out all the Lion head masks. The proprietor's recognized me because I was wearing the chinese jacket I had purchased from them in Sept 2003. "We are the only ones who sell that style," they proudly exclaimed.
More lions were dancing, and we saw a young lion climb up the door frame to grab a lettuce and li-see hung from a string from the 3rd floor office of the Chinese Benevolent Association - one of the key associations in the development of Chinatown. Next we stopped in at Chinese Zodiac Souvenirs - operated by my friend Martin - born and raised in Xian - the ancient capital of China. "Business is very good today - Very busy" smiled Martin. He is a gracious man - well spoken in his quiet english. Further down the street, the Lion Dancers were recieving the offerings at Jack Chow insurance, housed in the skinniest building in the world, at the corner of Pender and Carrall St. Jack was dressed in a red Chinese jacket, taking pictures from inside his building - that is only about 4 feet wide.
Very exciting - I took a picture.
Pictures will be developed soon, and posted...
