Mid-Autumn Festival Lion Dance

The Lion Dance troupes entered the Chinatown street as the sunsets to ring in the Mid-Autumn festival on October 1st. Someone told me that they don’t usually have lion dancing for Mid-Autumn but with what Chinatown has gone through this year, we can all use more luck and protection. We shared a short laugh but we both felt in our hearts the true weight of that plea.

The drum sounded, cue the lions. People spun on their heels and hurriedly gathered to make meaning of the commotion. Family and friends sitting down enjoying a meal turn in their seats to get a front row look. The street quickly filled with excitement. Everyone knew what was about to happen. They had seen Lion Dances all their life but this was different. It seemed everyone was starved for a blessing as if they just finished a meal at a fancy restaurant where they knew they would be still hungry after.

At the same time, I feel the presence of all of us. After a year of getting accused of a global pandemic, spit on, attacked, and feeling scared you might be next: we were together. A presence to be reckoned with. We will not go quietly.

PHOTOS TO COMMEMORATE THE MOMENT: