Chinatown Devoid of Lions

Friends disappointed to miss traditional festivities but are placated by ice cream and visit to tiger store

We seem to have miscalculated the date on which the streets of Manhattan’s Chinatown teem with lions, all trailed by drummers as they threaten local business owners and bat their eyelids coquettishly in celebration of Lunar New Year. We had hoped to catch a glimpse of some of these lions at a distance yesterday, and Kina invited her friends Futura and Spencer, each of whom had built up their expectations for over a week and were wound tightly as we arrived on Mott Street, where we bought confetti cannons and prepared for the hunt.

Alas, it was cold and also the wrong day. One crew of lions had visited a few businesses in East Chinatown earlier in the day, and when we spotted their furry heads and the young dancers who wear them as they walked briskly towards their cars, we asked if any lions remained in the wild. They offered that while it was too cold to dance, the next weekend would probably be a better day for lions. Children wept.

Having spent our confetti cannons and missed the lions, then, we all decamped to get some ice cream and buy tiger-themed decorations for our doors, which lifted spirits considerably. I gave all the kids red envelopes to fund their new year endeavors and promised to let them know if I spotted any big cats.

Spencer’s mother sent a video later that evening of him dancing with a blanket on his head as his father played drums on the floor. A lion, after all!

As Kina’s weekly Parade covers become more elaborate, I have felt somewhat guilty writing a giant PARADE on top of them, and so each week’s masthead grows smaller and smaller. Today’s is tucked into a curly little shoot in the canopy of this gorgeous watercolor garden. Kina claims our names are written in the greenery, but I see only hers, which is appropriate.

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