Huge, happy crowds made a spectacular mess of Manhattan's Chinatown yesterday as the Lunar New Year Parade made its way through the narrow, confetti-strewn street under seemingly-tropical conditions of pleasant temperatures and real, actual sunshine.
It was an auspicious start to the Year of the Goat (or the Sheep... or the Ram... but I'm sticking with Goat because of the cuteness), and the hours-long celebration featured the usual mix of lion dances, dragon dances, corporate floats, community groups, musicians and drummers, elaborate traditional costumes, martial arts tumblers, and a scattering of politicians like Scott Stringer, Daniel Squadron, Chuck Schumer and, yes, Sheldon Silver.
As usual, the best part of the afternoon was the ridiculous numbers of poppers set off by and to the delight of the thousands of kids that lined the route.
This Year of the Goat marks the 4713th Chinese year, by the way. Up next in the Chinese zodiac: the monkey.
