Umbrellas lined Pender St. today as spectators watched the Chinese New Year parade inVancouver's Chinatown.
A few of the dragons in the parade wore plastic to keep the rain off their heads.
I thought I heard bagpipes. "Scottish bagpipes for Chinese New Year?" But I knew that in multi-culti, multi-grant Canada, anything was possible.
There were other cultures represented in the parade too, from Vietnamese to Haida.
I was looking at the CKNW mascot and then I said, "Hey, that's Christie Clark." I listen to her talk show sometimes.
The guy in the cap in the above photo was a 'rain on the parade' type of photographer. The parade was an event made for photographers and there were many bending the rules by going into the street to get a closer shot. Eventually a parade crowd-control Chinese woman came around with a loud speaker and started moving photographers back toward the yellow line by the sidewalk. So a bunch of photographers were backing up all at once and the guy with the cap decides to squat on the street and change his camera's memory card. Then he got angry at another photographer, saying that her umbrella could have poked his eye out. She was carrying a closed umbrella by her side and it didn't have a pointed tip. That's the first time I've seen a photographer get nasty to another while covering a news event; I've always been amazed at how cordial photographers at these events are toward one another. 
I recognized these musicians, The Carnival Band. They played at the bandstand next to Science World last November at the party finishing off 'Bike to Work Week'.
5 comments:
i have information on portland housing society how can i contact you
Gee, I've been wondering that myself for years now. I have some idea how to get information to R.S., but actual contact is well nigh nil.
Great picture, that one fourth down with the dragon in a circle matching the top of the sun tower.
That's Ross Barret leading the Carnival Band. Have they really changed their name to the Carnival Boys? That would be cutting out a lot of the fun for Ross! He used to play the Classical Joint Jazz Bar when I was a 17 yr. old waitress there, great guy. His son is in the band too, he also plays sax, so does his son's mom.
He is, as they say, a dab hand with the ladies.
anonymous,
We have to discuss setting up an email contact.
Feel free to write your information in the comments section, for now.
Rachel,
I changed the name to the Carnival Band. I thought they were advertised by 'Bike to Work Week' as the Carnival Boys, but I could be wrong. Thanks for pointing that out.
The tourqoise dragon forming a circle was my favorite photo too.
Apparently Christie Clark didn't broadcast from Carnegie Centre today after all, even though her show's website said that's where she'd be. I heard that she did her show from a van on the Downtown Eastside.
Audrey told me she was at a CCAP meeting where Ethel informed them that she had refused them permission to broadcast from inside the Carnegie. I believe she did her show from a van in the alley today.
The Carnival Band is a real community band, anyone can join by going to the Brittania Centre for their weekly practices. Check the Brittania schedule for the day, I think that's the way it still works.
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