Lunar New Year Extravaganza 2008

Unbeknownst to me, a Chinese rite of passage in Edmonton is attending the annual Edmonton Chinatown Multi-cultural Centre Lunar New Year Extravaganza. While I participated in the festivities as a child, I haven't done so in recent memory.

My family and I had to be at the Northlands Agricom for Felicia's cheerleading competition anyway on Saturday, so we decided to pop down to the grounds earlier to allow us some free time to check out the sights.

Turns out there wasn't much to see. We were clearly there much too early (around noon), and it is my understanding that the crowds didn't start to build until the late afternoon, but for my purposes anyway, it demonstrated to me that I wasn't missing much.

Amanda in an empty hall

The booths, dispensing a predictable variety of trinkets, decorative items, jewelry and the like, were bland, although my parents (also predictably) were drawn to the DVD vendor immediately.

Poor little girl forced to play dress up

Dried goods

Lots of earrings

With a qi pao

My parents raid the DVD vendor

My sister and I tried to get some fried noodles to take with us to the next hall, but they were unfortunately out for our half an hour window. I ended up with a green onion cake ($3), while Amanda's two spring rolls were really not worth the $3 she paid.

If I do partake in next year's "Extravaganza", I'll be sure to time it so there are performances taking place during my visit, and a crowd so a festive atmosphere is possible.