lion dance

Happy Chinese New Year – The Year of the Sheep/Goat – S10E18

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CNY2015 Lions

Gong Hei Fat Choy! This year’s lunar new year celebrations is quite late. This year’s animal is quite confusing as it’s either year of the sheep or goat. I’ll leave it either way.

As usual, it’s great to go out and lion dance at various places. The first stop was at a public school and kids were excited to see the lions and take part in it. What was surprising that some of the kids knew their animal that they’re born in. I was able to take some photos from the event. Then my lion dance troupe did five other events and they were at a bank and several retirement homes. It was great to see some of the guys again for the performances.

You can check the photos over at Flickr by clicking HERE.

Posted below are a few silly photos during the performances. I got several lion dance performances to go. Have a Happy Chinese New Year!

Pssst, February 20th is my birthday!

Photos from the February 22nd lion dance at T&T Supermarket. Click HERE.

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It Was a Great Weekend Going to Two Museums – [Summer Special]

August 16 Frame

It has been a rainy week in the Nation’s Capital, but the wet soggy and chilly climate could not deter various events happening on the weekend. I had the opportunity to attend the Ottawa Mini Maker Faire, which was held at the Canada Science and Technology Museum. The family-friendly event which in its 4th year is a festival of creativity and showing inventions coming from a DIY aspect. A lot of exhibitors ranged from gadgets to a lot of demonstrations from robotics and products using 3D printing, just to name a few. There were workshops and panel during the event.
Over 600 plus came out to the event for Saturday, quite surprising as the festival brings out the fun technology in all ages.
Photos from the event are posted on Flickr, you can check the photos by clicking here.

The other museum to go on Saturday night was at the Canadian Museum of Nature. It was a lion dance performance for a wedding reception. Prior to performing, I brought along the Polaroid Spectra Camera to try shooting the double exposure effect. I posted two photos onto my Facebook page and I will post them here. The lion dance performance was great as usual and the newlyweds probably enjoyed the colourful lions dancing around them for good luck and prosperity.
The photos are also on Flickr, you can the photos by clicking here.

Overall, it was a great weekend in Ottawa. Another event is happening and that’s the Arboretum Music Festival. It’s in their 3rd year running and they got an excellent lineup from the Constantines, Kevin Drew, Hilotrons and a bunch of others. There’s definitely lots of do in Ottawa as Summer is not quite over yet.
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The 2014 Lunar New Year Parade in Ottawa Chinatown – S09E25

CNY Parade Vinyl 2014

It’s become a yearly thing as we parade through Ottawa Chinatown for Chinese New Year. It’s the Winterlude Lunar New Year Parade to celebrate the Year of the Horse. Luck was on our side as the weather was not too cold, no major snowfall and it was a nice sunny day.
At the start of the parade, it was feeling cold but as the parade progressed further into Chinatown, it didn’t get very cold. My fellow lion dance buddies were getting sweaty as they were using the lion.

Chinatown Remixed joined the parade this year as the group has become prominent in the Ottawa arts and culture scene. Some of the members were holding horse signs as it’s the year of the horse. There were the zodiac animals and another dance troupe joining for the parade festivities.
As usual, they were firecrackers, red envelopes and lettuce as it ward off evil spirits and to bring good luck and prosperity.

You can check out a few photos from below. I was able to shoot some of it during the parade. I tried shooting with the Polaroid camera but the image quality didn’t turn out right.
This concludes the major activities and performances for the lion dance troupe as Chinese New Year winds down for another year. Kudos goes out to the Ottawa Chinatown businesses for bringing the fun and endearing the cold for the parade.
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First Day of Chinese New Year, The Year of the Horse – S09E23

Color Frame IP CNY 2014

It’s that time of year where I get to celebrate Chinese New Year and have fun, eat a lot of food and perform. It’s the year of the horse this year and its symbol this year is the wood and it brings some energy and clashes, according to The Independent.
As usual, for myself, it’s a busy time where my lion dance troupe have a lot of performances on Chinese New Year. The first day was hectic as a few of the members went to CTV Two for the morning show (CTV Morning Live Ottawa) and you can watch the clip over at the link. I appear in it and mostly smiling at times in the background.
Other performances done on the first day of Chinese New Year were at a retirement home, Algonquin College, RBC Royal Bank and ending it off at a private school in the Rockcliffe area.
You can check out the photos from below. The main photo was taken at Algonquin College and used The Impossible Project Color Frames Edition. I’m continuing to shoot on instant photos.
There will be a some posts on upcoming performances. Stay tuned to it.
All I have to say is Kung Hey Fat Choy! Happy Chinese New Year to everyone.

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Chinese New Year 2013: The Parade in Ottawa Chinatown – S08E26

CNY Parade-3

It was a chilly but wonderful Saturday as the lions and dragon roamed through Ottawa Chinatown for the annual Chinese New Year parade. Also on hand were other drummers and twelve animals from the Chinese zodiac.
This year was unique as it was in conjunction with Winterlude/NCC.
For myself, I was on the cymbals and the tail of the lion. The photo shown had Ottawa mayor, Jim Watson giving the red pocket to the lions under the Chinatown Gateway. It was definitely the popular spot as crowds waited for the lions and dragon to come through the part of Chinatown.

Don’t forget to check some of the photos I took during the parade.
Here’s a short clip via Vine at this link.

Overall, the weather was great and fun watching families and their kids be happy for the occasion. I forgot to mention that the seventh day of Chinese New Year is everyone’s birthday.
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Chinese New Year 2013: Lion Dance at T&T – S08E24

Lion Dance T&T Supermarket Feb 2013-9

Kung Hei Fat Choy!
What a way to start Chinese New Year for 2013 with a lion dance performance at T&T Supermarket, Ottawa location. Although, my lion dance troupe had done a few performances since Thursday leading up to Chinese New Year, it’s been exciting to see people be happy to watch the colourful lions.
It’s been wonderful having two small lions and three big lions for the big occasion.

The performance at T&T was pretty crazy as crowds were getting packed and we performed for about 30 mins around the supermarket. It was quite a frenzy for the guy dressed up as Cai Shen. He was giving out the red enveloped and lots of people were grabbing the red envelopes like hotcakes. That was quite a moment.

There’s one more big performance and it will be on Saturday (Feb. 16) for the New Year Lion Dance Parade.

Don’t forget to check the photos.
Last thing, I have been using Vine and here are a few lion dance related clips to check out.
http://vine.co/v/bvi7aUxUhlD
http://vine.co/v/bve0TJb1Z2X

Happy year of the snake!
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The First Lion Dance Performance of 2013 – S08E22

Lion Dance Pembroke Feb 2013-2
It’s been several years that my lion dance troupe went to Pembroke for Chinese New Years celebration. A bit of a scary story getting to Pembroke was experiencing a slight white out conditions from the blowing snow. It was like a thriller movie and quite scary going through it. It’s funny how my dad was driving quickly during the brief treacherous conditions, one of my family friends who was driving behind text messaged to slow down and not knowing it was my dad who drove.
I know Chinese New Year doesn’t start until February 10th but the Pembroke community did it a week early. As usual, the crowd enjoyed the performance and there was food.

The newest edition to the troupe’s instruments is a slightly small but brightly looking drum. My thought was that it sounds very hollow but over time, the sound should improve from drumming a lot. There will be getting used to the new sound.
It was great to see some of the lion dance crew and will be seeing more of them in the days to come when Chinese New Year arrives.
Don’t forget to check out the photos.

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