Posts Tagged ‘lion dance’
The 2014 Lunar New Year Parade in Ottawa Chinatown – S09E25
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
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.
Chinese New Year 2013: The Parade in Ottawa Chinatown – S08E26
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
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
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.
The Rah Rah Interview and a Certain Lion Dance To Begin October – S08E04
Due to the delay in posting an entry, I had to add in the lion dance performance on Wednesday night at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. Every year, the lion dance troupe performs for the National Day Celebration, which is also called Double Tenth. Celebrating the National Day of the Republic of China, known as Taiwan. Hence, the photo above, as I couldn’t think of anything to add along with Wednesday’s radio show. As usual, there were dignitaries, politicans, and good food. There will be some photos posted on this entry.
Wednesday’s Radio Show for October 2nd
On this edition of WildWorks at CKCU-FM, I aired the interview with one of the members of Rah Rah. The interview was done a few weeks ago and it happened on the night of the Polaris Music Prize Salon at Mercury Lounge (in Ottawa, not the one in New York City). The interview was pretty last minute and the funny part was having to run from place to place getting to the venue where they were performing. Overall, it was a good interview as you will get to listen.
Other parts on the radio show were the Wild 10 Countdown as Jenn Grant is still number one. The blog entry for it is over at this link.
There were a bunch of new music being played as I was also solo hosting for the second week. Played the likes of Julie Doiron, Inlet Sound, Dan Mangan, The Zolas and etc.
Audio/Interview
The October 3rd Radio Show. The playlist is at this link. Press play to listen.
The Rah Rah Interview – Press play to listen or download it.
Continuing the Fun Asian Heritage Month Theme – S07E39
It was an exciting time on Saturday afternoon for Chinatown Remixed as there were activities happening through out Ottawa Chinatown. There were so many events happening on Saturday, May 12th, it was nice to see a good turnout for Chinatown Remixed. As previously mentioned elsewhere, it was a privilege for CKCU-FM to take part in the event. As the community radio station, it needs to get the exposure from attending various cultural events since the station has other multicultural programs. It was awesome that they were able to set up the tent and get DJ 2 Creamz spinning tunes throughout the afternoon. Since the event has been running for four years, it was the first time to have the Success Lion Dance Troupe participate. It’s my second time to check out the event. Kudos to the organizers for bringing an excellent event to Ottawa Chinatown. A big thanks goes to Chris White of CKCU-FM and DJ 2 Creamz for taking part and being enthusiastic to the event.
I was able to take photos as they are posted up on my Facebook page at WildWorks.
This week’s radio show was the continuation of the Asian Heritage Month theme with playing Canadian bands and musicians with Asian backgrounds. There were new songs from Scary Bear Soundtrack and Hexes & Ohs. Then a classic song by The Acorn as there were past members with Asian roots.
How could I forget about the new Beach House album, Bloom. All I can say that it’s probably one of my favourite albums of 2012.
Prior to that, there was the Wild 10 Countdown and a new number one song this week.
The playlist for the May 16th show is at this link.
Audio/Radio Show
The May 16 Radio Show – Press play to listen.
Chinese New Year 2012 Wrap-up – S07E23
It’s been a hectic week with the Chinese New Year celebrations. On Saturday, there were several performances from Chinese schools to a high-end retail store. The highlight was at Ottawa Chinatown for the Chinese New Year parade. The lions and dragons roamed through the local business in the area. The exciting part was the crowds gathering at the Ottawa Chinatown Gateway. As usual with the parade in Chinatown, loud firecrackers lit up several times.
What was good this year was CKCU-FM taking part in the festivities. They were at the Raw Sugar Cafe as the CKCU hosts and volunteers soaked in the Chinese New Year atmosphere and the gateway being close by. The weather was pretty good as we did not endure cold frigid conditions.
On Sunday, the last full performance was at T&T Supermarket. Instead of using a lion, our lion dance troupe only used a dragon. The occasion at T&T Supermarket was an ambassador coming by and greeting the customers around the store. It was almost chaotic as we were short of people to help out on the dragon. It was a close call and got through the performance and through the crowds of people at the beginning.
Overall, the performances were good and tiring. Let’s hope that the year of the dragon will make it prosperous and lucky for everyone. Check out the photos and there’s one funny photo where I tried to put on the mask of the Dragon.
Photos
School Performances
The Chinese New Year Parade at Ottawa Chinatown
T&T Supermarket on January 29, 2012
Happy Chinese New Year 2012 & Year of the Dragon – S07E22
Happy Chinese New Year, Kung Hei Fat Choi – 恭喜發財
2012 should be shaping to be a great year as it’s the year of the dragon. The dragon brings power and luck for anyone who’s born. There’s a bit of decoration at the CKCU-FM on-air studio with the red envelopes and a cute lion or dragon hanging on the window.
This year’s music theme on my show happens to be songs with “dragon.” It was quite a rush job trying to find certain song names with dragon in it. As usual, Lauren joined for the second year and got immersed with the Chinese New Year culture. The new CKCU Volunteer Coordinator, Chris White came on the show to talk about CKCU’s participation for the Chinese New Year celebration on Ottawa Chinatown for Saturday, January 28th. There will be a lion dance performance and CKCU will be at the Raw Sugar Cafe to join in the festivities. CKCU hosts from China Album and The Mix and others will be at the Raw Sugar Cafe. Drop by and say hi to them.
Another part to this year’s CNY show was bringing some food. There were rice crackers, some New Year food mix and a rice cake. You will see the photos from below and then a few photos from the performance on Monday, January 23rd, the start of Chinese New Year.
The playlist to the show (including the podcast to the first part of the show) is at this link.
The Wild 10 Countdown summary is posted at this link.
Audio/Podcast
The full January 25th show – Press play to listen.
The Chinese New Year show aired on CKCU-FM – Press play to listen
Photos
From Chinese New Year Lion Dance Performances
Blame It on SOPA and a Certain Lion – S07E21
Do I really need to blame anything that happen on Wednesday? It was certainly a crazy day as so many things happened with a morning lion dance to enduring morning traffic and certain websites going down due to an online protest. I didn’t get too highly involved because of the hectic morning and of course, the radio show. I am in support against SOPA because I post materials on my blog and I do worry about getting in trouble because of copyright laws and other factors.
Aside from that, I could bring a blame on the Chinese lion because I had to delay part of my radio/podcast show. The live radio show was a farewell to a favourite TV show, Chuck. Although, the series finale airs on January 27, 2012, it got pushed up a week because of the Chinese New Year themed show. The songs I picked were my favourites and people who are not familiar with Chuck would be surprised that certain Canadian indie bands were played on the show. There was a segment from an unaired interview with In-Flight Safety, which was recorded in the Summer of 2010. It was with the front man of the band, John Mullane as we chatted about their song being used on NBC’s Chuck.
Hope you enjoy this week’s shows. After the farewell to Chuck edition, it’s The Wild 10 Countdown as there are a couple of new entries.
Before you listen to the audio, the playlist from the January 18th show is at this link. The Wild 10 Countdown summary is over at this link.
Exciting news! The WildWorks Station is on the shortlist for the 2011 Canadian Weblog Awards nomination. The blog is in the category for Best Weblog About Music. It’s nice to get support from friends as they were happy that I got on the shortlist. Thanks!
Audio/Interview
The January 18th Show – Press play to listen.
The January 19th Show (The Wild 10 Countdown) – Press play to listen.
The Short Chat about Chuck with John Mullane of In-Flight Safety (Recorded back in 2010)
