This morning the Wong Benevolent Association on Waverly Place decked out their flags. “No parking” signs were tied onto the lamp posts between Sacramento and Clay Streets. A row of folding chairs was set up in front of the building. A man with a rag wiped down each red plastic seat and rusty frame. Old folks, done up, had big ribbon rosettes pinned on their chests.
Whatever the occasion, there were lion dance and fire crackers, food and music. Miss Chinatown Pageant brought out glittering young girls wiggling down the alley way in the arms of their escorts.
Down on Washington Street, youth groups put on blue overalls and started to clean the streets, all in preparation for next Saturday’s Chinese New Year parade.
I went about my business, but was affected by the sudden surge of energy. My piano students looked forward to the annual carnival on Portsmouth Square, where they would win stuffed animals and buy cotton candy.
Photo by Dutched Pinay
