RSS FeedHappy Chinese New Year!
H Street NW, between 6th & 7th, was abuzz yesterday due to the neighborhood Chinese New Year celebration. A decent sized crowd gathered on the sidewalks and a few merchants were selling their wares, including the typical snappers (which could be heard all day long).
This blogger made it out to observe the 3:45pm giant firecracker lighting. And while the event is hyped up a lot, we’ve come to learn that the lighting isn’t very reliable. The last time we witnessed the firecracker lighting, it had to be re-lit several times and was never able to travel up the rope to the top of the crane.
Given yesterday’s calm winds and unseasonably warm temperatures, we were hoping for a flawless firecracker demonstration. We, along with the crowd that had gathered, would eventually be disappointed once again. The sequence of events went a little bit like this:
At a little after 3:45pm, MPD cleared a small path through the crowd so that firefighters could bring their torches to the firecracker (for those of you who don’t know, DCFD actually lights the firecracker, not parade organizers). A few minutes later, firefighters made their way to the firecracker and prepped their torches.
They looked ready to go, but that’s when things turned sour. There was a prolonged meeting between DCFD and parade organizers. A short time later, sounds of boo’ing were heard from the crowd. Finally, a MPD officer on a bullhorn announced that the firecracker lighting had been canceled. The eventual reason given was that there was a gas odor coming from a manhole at 6th & HSt NW and the firecracker was not lit due to safety reasons.
Maybe next year!
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Comments
I caught the proclamation portion of the program. Evans, Barry, Gray and I think Mendolson along with DC’s director of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs showed up from the city. it was great to see such a good turnout by all ethnicities to celebrate the day. I’m sure the beautiful weather helped!
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I wasn’t there when the gas odor thing went down, but got to see the parade going towards the National Portrait Gallery and then back up past the Verizon Center.
Great photos – thanks for posting!