It’s cold outside in New York and so I hvae an idea for you. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka: The Met) is running sweet admission special through February. All you have to do is print out a family pass and your group of six gets into the museum for free. that is big savings if you were otherwise going to haul your family to see some fine art (and some crappy stuff, too). It ain’t cheap. Last summer, the adult admission jumped to $20 from $15. Ouch. Two cool exhibits currently happening are Cézanne’s Astonishing Apples and How Van Gogh Made His Mark
The Year of the Pig is Here
Chinese New Year is here so the Year of the Pig has arrived. The pig, also referred to as a boar, is the last animal of the 12 year lunar cycle. There is a folk tale that explains the order the animals appear in the Chinese zodiac. If you’ve ever read a placemat at many Chinese restaurants you already know that each animal has distinct personality characteristics and the animal sign you are born under influences the life you will have.
Wherever there is a large Chinese population, you can bet you’ll find a celebration. Some places like in Singapore and Taiwan have celebrations over a 15 day period. This is a major time for folks to head out on vacation. I know, I used to live in both countries. We headed out ourselves along with everyone else scrambling for plane tickets. If you’re traveling to any of these places, be prepared that some businesses may not be open, at least not if they are run by a Chinese person. This is the time for visiting family and relaxation.
Here are some things to look for to help you celebrate.
- Hung Bao (Ang Pow)– Red envelopes mean prosperity, long life and good fortune. Usually adults put money in the envelopes and pass them out to children.
- Firecrackers – Their loud bang scares away evil spirits and bad luck and also brings spring rain for crops.
- Lion Dance– The dancers wear a stylized lion’s head mask and mimic the movements of a lion. (It’s actually more involved than that). The lion scares away evil spirits and brings happiness and good fortune.
- Live flowers stand for rebirth and growth.
- Oranges and tangerines stand for “abundant happiness.”
A traditional Chinese New Year food to look for is zong zi which is glutinous rice wrapped up in leaves and steamed. Some have peanuts, egg and meat inside and can be found at many Asian grocery stores. I even can get them in Columbus, Ohio.
Here are links to various Chinese New Year celebrations around the world.
The photo is of a card designed by Chia-yi Fan for a New Year card design contest in Taiwan.
Cultural Calendars for Los Angeles
Visiting Los Angeles soon and interested in foregoing the beaches, Beverly Hills, and Hollywood for more cultural and literary pursuits?
Well, we’ve got just the webpage for you. LABrainTerrain reminds us that LaLa Land isn’t all fluff and celebrities. The website, which is aimed for those “Angelenos interested in more than just driving, flirting and (net)working” compiles five separate calendars for the highbrow among us; Literary Events, Science Events, Cultural Events, Political Events, and the odd man out, Closed Captioned Movies in Los Angeles.
Out of curiosity, I popped on over to the Science Calendar to find out what’s going on tonight and discovered a rather weak selection of only a couple of items for the month. The cultural and literary calendars, however, seem to be rather full for February while the political calendar is ho-hum and the strange “closed captioned” section is totally empty.
Okay, so the site has some growing to do. It is not as robust and thorough as its sister site in New York, but maybe it will get there soon.
Pancake Memories
With Pancake Week finally here, I didn’t want it to pass by without mentioning the best pancakes I have ever had. They will forever be one of my high point dining experiences when I backpacked through Europe. Granted, when I backpacked through Europe any meal that wasn’t bread and cheese was a highlight, but the pancakes at The Pancake Bakery in Amsterdam are more than just batter that is poured on a griddle then slathered in butter and soaked in syrup. They are more than the potato pancakes that are my preference.
The Pancake Bakery versions are glorious concoctions that can be either savory or sweet. The menu seems as long as a fine wine list. Be prepared; it can take awhile to make a decision. To help you find the flavor you’re looking for, the international section is a good place to start. Greek? Mexican? Egyptian? Indian? If you have a sweet tooth, chocolate is good. Add some zip by making it chocolate liqueur. Or, add rum–I think that’s what I did. Since the Pancake Bakery is just a few doors down from Anne Frank’s house, it’s easy to combine great eats with one of the places in the world not to be missed if you happen to be traveling in that direction.
Since I was there the restaurant has expanded but it is still in its original location at Prinsengracht 191 in a 17th century warehouse on one of the canals. The pancake in the photo is the Caprese Pancake, a savory selection topped with pesto, tomato and mozzarella.
A Chinese New Year Parade in Butte, Montana? Sure.
Butte, Montana might be the place you’d least expect to find a Chinese New Year parade, but sure enough, every year Butte’s residents take to the streets with an authentic dragon to march through town. Billed as the shortest, the loudest and possibly the coldest Chinese New Year parade in the world, this quick route through historic Butte ends at the Mai Wah Museum where 10,000 firecrackers go off in a series of bangs. Until that point, people not carrying the dragon make a ruckus with noise makers. This year ‘s festivities are on Saturday, February 24.
Why a Chinese New Year parade in Butte? There used to be a hopping Chinatown here until discrimination laws made it too difficult for people of Chinese descent to make a living and they left for California and elsewhere.
The Mah Wah Museum is housed in what was once a noodle parlor and is run by the Mai Wah Society. The dragon, on display in the museum the rest of the year, was a gift from Taiwan. I’ve seen the dragon mounted on the wall, but never in action. It’s gorgeous.
Of all the small museums I’ve been to, Mai Wah is one of my favorites. The society’s website is full of fascinating information about this little talked about piece of American history when Western towns thrived thanks partly to a lot of sweat equity from Chinese laborers.
Here is an article about last year’s event.