Chinese Lunar New Year Parade 2014
On Sunday I braved Chinatown for the Chinese Lunar New Year Parade. Last year Trent and I had a not-so-favorable experience with the Chinese New Year when we froze for hours waiting for the anti-climactic firecrackers of the Firecracker Festival to begin.
This year the weather was much more agreeable (around 45 and sunny) and I had heard that the parade was the better of the two events, so I decided to give it one more try. I'm so glad I did because the parade was definitely worth seeing, and a huge upgrade from last year's festivities.
I got to Chinatown about 15 minutes before the parade started, and although the streets were already crowded, it wasn't as chaotic as I feared it would be. I was able to get a good spot a few blocks down Mott Street from the starting point (at Canal), and although I was a few rows back I still had a fairly good view of the proceedings. It didn't hurt that the sidewalk sloped down toward the street, and I'm pretty tall — especially when compared to most of the residents of Chinatown. If I go next year, I'll probably arrive earlier to get a better spot, but I was fine exchanging some visibility to not have to wait forever for the parade to start.
The parade itself was a total assault on the senses: loud music, brightly colored floats and more confetti poppers than I've ever seen in one place before. I was right across the street from a man very loudly banging a gong, which was charmingly festive at the beginning and just loud as the parade wore on.
The confetti poppers were definitely my favorite part of the festivities, even if someone popped one off RIGHT by my ear (ouch). I never got over the novelty of seeing a stream of glitter and paper confetti shoot into the air, and by the end of the parade the streets were blanketed. I may be shaking glitter out of my hair and clothes for a few more days, but walking home through the colorful streets was definitely worth it.
It's the beginning of the Year of the Horse, so there were a few horse-themed floats, but mostly it was just a lot of people marching in various costumes. Not being Chinese, I didn't recognize a lot of the singers or "personalities" that went by, but you definitely don't have to be Chinese to appreciate a good lion dance (and there were a lot of those, which I always love). I'm glad I gave the Lunar New Year festivities another chance, and I definitely recommend the parade much more than I ever would the firecracker festival.
In fact I believe I said that seeing Asian Ronald McDonald was the best part of the firecracker festival last year, and to my delight I got to see him again this year, marching in front of the McDonald's float. Nevermind the fact that it feels wrong that the very American McDonald's has a prominent place in a traditional Chinese holiday celebration, or that the juxtaposition of "Happy Year of the Horse" next to a photo of a McD's hamburger was quite unfortunate — any scenario in which I get to see Asian Ronald McDonald is a happy one.
