Phoenix, Arizona - Chinese New Year Festival

The 2014 Chinese New Year Festival was held in downtown Phoenix at the Margaret Hance Park.  Entrance to the event was free and there was a lot of activity.

A man was explaining how an abacus works. It was very interesting and is something that I have always wanted to know how to do.  The girls were getting his undivided attention.

 There were a lot of booths with stuff...

 And booths with things to do. This one had arts and crafts.

 Eventually the stage caught my eye and I wandered over to see what was going on.  I saw that a family was performing and while dad was on stage in costume and whirling a stick...

 The children were the funniest. One little boy was playing with the cymbals.

 ...while his older brother was wondering when this was all going to end.

 Soon a two man dragon took center stage and weaved and bobbed.  Every so often the front actor would raise the dragon head so that children could see and understand that this was just make believe.

 A woman sang an opera and played both the man and woman's part.

 A troupe of butterfly dancers fluttered around the stage and ended with a great photo op (minus the man's head!)

 Children were in costume.

 The organizer of the event spoke to the group and thanked everyone for making it a huge success.

 The local Tai Chi organization had a competition earlier in the day at the main branch of the Phoenix Public Library.  First, second and third place medals were given.  This woman was waving at someone in the audience.

 After the award ceremony, the group put on a Tai Chi demonstration.

There were a lot of food booths and plenty to do. It was a good festival.  Happy New Year!