Tour:Smart - Martin Atkins at Avant Garden Tonight.
H-Town Rock
Missed Connections: November 2 - 5
Daily-ist Thursday: River Oaks Theater 70th Anniversary Celebration
Get sticky at Lawndale's Sugar Skull workshop
Quick! Name the most-watched television program of all time. Last year's thrilling Super Bowl? A mere 97.5 million viewers. The series final of "M*A*S*H" in 1983? 106 million viewers, tops in American television history -- but a fraction of the 396 million people who watched last year's Spring Festival Gala on CCTV, China's state-owned television network. Aired the night before Chinese New Year, the broadcast ranges all over the cultural map: acrobats, comedians, Olympic athletes, Taiwanese pop singers, astronauts, politicians, movie stars (like Zhang Ziyi, who famously flubbed her lipsynch last year), even dancing Chinese army recruits. It's the ultimate can't miss-program, not least because it's broadcast on nearly every channel. Think you're seeing a lot of Ryan Seacrest now? Imagine a world in which he is -- literally -- on every station.
In Asian cultures that follow the lunar calendar, most notably Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures, the Year of the Ox begins on Monday, January 26. (Japan, having switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1873, celebrates its new year on January 1, and Thailand celebrates its new year on April 13.) Most of the activities familiar to Westerners - lion dances, setting off fireworks, making dumplings - take place on New Year's Eve, but the entire holiday period lasts for two weeks. In China, the entire week following New Year's Eve is a national holiday! Here in Houston, where Monday is just another workday, the celebrations are scattered over the next couple weeks.
Unlike the American-style new year, marked mostly by drinking, football, and best-of-the-year lists, the Asian lunar new year is the most important holiday of the year. It's basically a combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas, replete with celebratory meals, gift-giving, and family gatherings. Each culture, each region, and even each family has its own ceremonies, but the unifying concept is to sweep out the bad fortune and untidiness of the previous year in order to start the new year fresh, in anticipation of prosperity and happiness. For instance, the traditional Chinese lion dance brings good luck and, with the aid of firecrackers, scares away evil spirits. Vietnamese households will display a kumquat bush with some perfectly formed orange kumquats, signifying good luck; the Vietnamese word for "orange" is pronounced much like the word for "wealth." (It's a sort of punny wisdom. Just go with it.) Similarly, in Chinese households, a whole fish is traditionally served at New Year's Eve dinner, with some or all left untouched. The Mandarin word for "fish" has the same pronunciation as the word for "abundance," and therefore leaving fish on the plate ensures an abundance of good things throughout the year.
Houston has two big, family-friendly lunar new year festivals this year, each expected to attract more than 10,000 people. Next Saturday, January 31, the Chinese Community Center in New Chinatown will hold its 7th annual Lunar New Year Festival. If you're hankering to see dragon dances, lion dances, shaolin kungfu, contortionists, ribbon dancing, or other traditional entertainment, look no further. And with more than 50 booths selling food and souvenirs, you can also quench your retail thirst. Just don't expect to see -- or hear -- firecrackers. According to CCC community outreach director Nine-Min Cheng, setting off even one requires a $2,800.00 permit, so they decided to compensate the perfomers instead and use recorded firecracker effects during the lion dance.
The CCC festival is specifically a celebration of Chinese New Year. For more pan-Asian content, try the 2nd annual Lunar New Year Houston festival at Viet Hoa center in New Chinatown on Saturday, February 7. A wealth of entertainment and vendors representing Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures will be on hand, perhaps with a particular focus on the latter since Texas Tết Fest, the huge Vietnamese celebration held last year at Reliant Park, has been cancelled, and its co-founder has become the program coordinator for this event. The festival is sponsored by TexAsia, the local nonprofit which puts on the annual downtown Asian American cultural festival in October. TexAsia's director Glenda Joe emphasized that the Viet Hoa event was specifically scheduled not to compete with the CCC, but noted that their event would feature live fireworks during the lion dance. "It's not just a performance," says Joe, noting that live firecrackers gives the dance "cultural significance; it's what allows the lion dance to scare off the evil spirits and sweep the area clean for the new year."
Surely the most swanky lunar new year's event will be the Thursday, February 5 party hosted by Yellow Magazine, the Houston glossy targeted to upscale young Asians. Free food from Kim Son? Check. Free booze from Martell Cognac? Check. Pinup girls from the pages of Yellow Magazine? Check. All are welcome and admission is free, says editor-in-chief Viet Hoang, as long as you send an email to RSVP@yellowmags.com. Probably leave the kids at home for this one.
If all your plans fall through, you can just stay at home and stream the CCTV Spring Festival Gala on your computer. We won't judge you.
According to the lunar calendar, this year is the Year of the Ox, which Boston baseball fans may interpret as a typo but is in fact a shout out to an old-school beast of burden. The Year of the Ox is all about good fortune achieved through perserverance, dedication, and hard work. That sounds suspiciously familiar. Was Obama's speechwriter dabbling in Chinese astrology?
A (reasonably complete) list of Lunar New Year events in Houston follows. All events are free unless otherwise noted.
Saturday, January 24
10am-3pm
Vietnamese New Year Festival
Vietnamese American Community Center
9530 Antoine Drive, Houston TX 77086
(713) 320-7555
Lion dances, songs, games, and homemade Vietnamese food.
2pm
Lion Dance Performance
Children's Museum of Houston
1500 Binz St., Houston TX 77004
(713) 522-1128
Part of the Museum's ongoing Lunar New Year Wonderweek, from Jan. 22-28.
Free with museum admission
2pm and 4:30pm
Dragon Dance Performance
Gigi's Asian Bistro & Dumpling Bar
5085 Westheimer Road (Galleria II), Houston, TX 77056
(713) 629-8889
Performances will repeat on Sunday, January 25. Free with meal.
5pm
Chinese New Year's Celebration
Saute Bistro
2303 Richmond Avenue, Houston, TX 77098
(713) 522-2106
Lion dance, free Chinese calligraphy, and a special menu. Free with meal.
7pm
"Let Love Fill the World" - an evening of Chinese art and music presented by the American Confucius Foundation
Houston Baptist University, Morris Cultural Arts Center, University Theater
7502 Fondren Road, Houston TX 77074
Tickets $15 and up, available at Great Wall Bookstore (281-731-7310) and other fine retailers.
Basically, a local version of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala
Monday, January 26
5pm-9pm
2009 Lunar New Year party
Thai Spice Asian Bistro
13602 Bellaire Boulevard, Houston, TX 77083
(281) 988-9666
Fireworks, lion dances, and a battle of the bands from Alief ISD; free with dinner.
Saturday, January 31
10am-4pm
7th annual Lunar New Year Festival
Chinese Community Center of Houston
9800 Town Park Drive, Houston TX 77036
(713) 271-6100
One of the two big lunar new year events in Houston. More than 10,000 people expected.
Sunday, February 1
10am-5pm
Chinese New Year Celebration
Tan Tan Restaurant
6816 Ranchester Drive, Houston, TX 77036
(713) 771-1268
Firecrackers and lion dances in the restaurant parking lot.
Thursday, February 5
7pm-9pm
Yellow Magazine Lunar New Year Party
Momentum BMW
10002 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77074
An outdoor party held at a BMW dealership featuring lion dances, catered food, cognac, and Yellow Magazine models.
To get on the free guest list, send an email to "rsvp@yellowmags.com"
Saturday, February 7
11am-7pm
2nd annual Lunar New Year Houston
Viet Hoa Center
8300 West Sam Houston Parkway, Houston TX 77072
(713) 861-8270
The other big lunar new year event in Houston. More than 10,000 people expected.
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A good article, lots of information about Chinese New Year and events to be held in Houston. Now I know where to go during Chinese New Year :)