The last week of January included a whole week of celebrations in the Big Apple, especially in Chinatown. The Lunar New Year was being observed not only by Chinese-Americans, but by a lot of curious New Yorkers and tourists. After a succession of programmed events, including concerts and exhibitions, the annual parade took place last Sunday. It was the thirteenth year New Yorkers were invited to join the elaborate floats from the starting point on Mott Street and down every other street in Chinatown. It was supposed to be an elaborate and exciting celebration. At least that’s how the event was described.
The event is so famous that it is advertised on different media platforms: websites, guides, TV, social media. This being the thirteenth year, no one could doubt the legitimacy of the event any longer. When you are an event planner, you know that the first five years are the most difficult. When you launch an event, you have to attract people, and then you have to give them a reason to return the following year. So with the parade planners having had so many years of experience, I thought I would find myself in an exciting afternoon celebration similar to the ones along Tsim Sha Tsui Street in Hong Kong.
The parade was scheduled on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Usually, for this kind of event, people try to get to the location hours in advance in order to find the best spot. This time, the crowd didn’t arrive too early, just half an hour before the performance. Both sides of the street were full of spectators, both locals and visitors alike. You could hear different languages, and I even heard someone comparing the excitement to the Times Square ball drop. From my ample experience in waiting for New York events, as my readers will know, I was happy for once to avoid this painful aspect so common to parades. This time would be different. This time there would be no waiting. This time the crowd would enjoy the show with pleasure and lightheartedness right off the bat. Unfortunately, the opposite 
was true. This time was definitely the worst!
The clock ticked: 11:30, 11:31, 11:32, 11:33, 11:34, 11:35, 11:45, noon…
The parade finally started at 12:45 p.m.! You could feel the frustration everywhere, some people who were tired of waiting they decided to leave. Apparently, the organizers didn’t deem it necessary to communicate with us, and the police officers just kept saying, “It’s going to start; it’s going to start.” Of course, we already knew this; what we wanted to know was “when?”
As it turned out, the real performers were the people in the crowd. They came on time to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. Some made the effort to wear traditional costumes, mostly kids who attracted all the journalists. They even put on a show for the waiting crowd. To keep it festive, some people came armed with firecrackers and entertained everyone. The little “pop” created an amazing feeling of excitement while spreading tons of confetti everywhere. They had different colors, shapes, and textures. The shiny ones reflected the sun’s rays, which bounced into the crowd. It created a fabulous image! After the first hour, people unconsciously interpreted the same dance: lifting one foot after the other and making their whole body move from left to right. For the first time in a while, I couldn’t feel my toes!
Eventually, the parade started. However, before even seeing the first performers, we already wished it would end, and we wished it would come even sooner when we discovered the politicians were the first to march. Indeed, they were apparently seizing the event to promote themselves while on campaign. After that, the rest of the parade went by very quickly, and the elaborate floats were few and far between! Nothing really exceptional or even worth it was really part of the event. I cannot even call it a show! It started with politicians, and finished with buses advertising insurance companies, in between, some somewhat subdued acts.
I had a hard time. Nevertheless, I deeply hope the Year of the Dragon will be in complete contrast to the parade: spectacular, successful, entertaining, unforgettable, and full of joy and dreams!
By Kenza Yahrfouri
