Year of the Water Dragon

For my money the most "NY" things that happen in New York are the following.

• New Years Day swimming with Polar Bears on Coney Island
• Mermaid Parade (also Coney Island)
• Fourth of July Fireworks 
• Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Chinese New Year Parade

All of these events show off the rich fullness of the New York experience. And this weekend we got to ring in the Year of the Water Dragon in Chinatown. We met up with some friends. We had some yummy food on Mott street and were done, a few minutes before the parade danced its way through Chinatown in our direction. I had Belushi up in the backpack and Mrs. GMIBP had Nugget up on her shoulders. The kids all cheered when anyone set off of the ubiquitous poppers shooting confetti and streamers into the air.

The dragons made their way through the streets. They are so much fun. They would tease the crowds and sometimes get close enough to pet. Unlike most other parades with their marching bands and politicians waving,( though this one does have that), it is a party in the streets. Silly string raining down on the marchers as well as the onlookers. You could feel the joy and optimism of a new year year surging through the crowd.

You can check out some of my photos from the day at my new Tumblr blog  Niel is Wordless