Topic: Year of the Dog Festival (Feb 16-March 2 board event only)

Tianyan

Date: 2018-02-15 14:47 EST
https://i.imgur.com/AobRMIB.jpg

Long ago in the mountains, there lived a horrible demon named Nian. Every year, on the first of the year, this beast would slink down into the villages to devour grain, livestock, and steal away wandering children.

So every year the villagers boarded up their houses and cowered in fear on this day, until one year a wise old man visited. "Why do you fear him?" He asked. "He is but one, and you are many. Surely he could not swallow you all."

The villagers did not trust the man's advice, so they remained in their houses, while he remained awake to ride the creature until dawn. That night Nian slunk back to his cave with an empty belly. This went on for several days until the man told the villagers "I cannot protect you forever."

This was no ordinary man. He was a god who had to return to his other duties. So he told them, "This Nian is a fearful beast, easily scared. He fears fire, loud noises, and strange beasts. So hang red signs and burn fires, beat your drums, and make music. Give your children masks to conceal them, and lanterns to light their way. Do this, and he will leave you be."

That was the last year the villagers ever saw Nian for each year they lit up the day and night with fire and noise and paraded through the streets with colorful masks to ward of the demon.

Adapted from the myth of Guo Nian

_________________________________________________

OOC

Starting on Friday, February the 16th, something mystical is happening in the Marketplace. As if by magic the streets are transformed and filled with lanterns, dancing lions, food, crafts, and of course: more food.

There will be large firework displays the 16th and 17th, though there will be others available throughout the festival every day.

The festival will conclude on March 2nd with the Lantern Festival (detailed below)

These will be board events only. People can post polyvores, attendance, etc here in this thread. If anyone wants to post their business participating, please feel free! Otherwise assume that the festival will in no way affect you business.

There will be a participation icon https://i.imgur.com/WiGZ2ZO.jpg

Tianyan

Date: 2018-02-15 15:06 EST
Food

Various street vendors will be selling traditional foods

Dumplings http://www.chinesenewyears.info/img/dumplings.jpg Pork, chicken, and vegetarian

New Years Cake https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-bKspaniXFVQ/UujJlzXegCI/AAAAAAAEZA0/B-oPrVDa4Mo/s800/chinese-new-year-cake-9.jpg A simple steamed cake, made with glutinous rice flour for a mochi-like chewy texture and sweetened with brown sugar.

Spring Rolls http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2017/01/20170116-chinese-new-year-2017-spring-rolls-reilly.jpg Guess what! These guys get their name from being a traditional spring festival dish.

Tang Yuan (These will be served mostly at the Lantern festival) http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2017/01/20170116-chinese-new-year-2017-tang-yuan-reilly.jpg Glutinous rice balls served in a sweet syrup, served warm. Some are plain, some are filled with black sesame paste.

Longevity Noodles http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2017/01/20170116-chinese-new-year-2017-longevity-noodles-reilly.jpg Two-foot long noodles served in a light broth seasoned with ginger and soy.

Tangerines! Do these really need a picture? Tangerines are considered to be Lucky Fruit!

Xiaobao https://cdn.theculturetrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/4854588972_de649b09dc_b.jpg Steamed dough balls. Filled with barbecue pork or vegetables.

Tanghulus https://cdn.theculturetrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/13182605444_48fe12f4c1_k-1024x577.jpg A variety of fruit on sticks, coated in a hard candy coating. The most popular being Hawthorns, but all sorts of fruits are available. These tend to be sweet, crunchy, and a little sour.

Tianyan

Date: 2018-02-15 15:22 EST
Festivities

Most of these will be offered daily

Fireworks

On the 16th and 17th there will be displays high above the Marketplace (the ashes being caught by a particular dragon who commands the wind).

One can expect a very boisterous display each night.

Throughout the days of the festival, there will be small handheld sparklers available, and larger fountain crackers. Both are completely harmless!

Lanterns

http://thepaperlanterns.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/chinesepaperlantern.jpg

Traditional paper lanterns will be strung up just about everywhere that is available, and many vendors will be offering them out. There will a couple of stations for people to make/paint their own lanterns.

Papercutting

http://www.chinesenewyears.info/img/papercut.gif

Also being offered out are intricately cut red paper. As with the lanterns, there will be stations with demonstrations and where people can try their hand at it. These are to be hung on doors and windows for protection and good fortune.

Red Packets

These will generally be given out to the young and old. The red packets are meant to be a blessing, filled with money. For children it is so they can bribe ghosts to leave them alone to have a peaceful year.

Shadow Theater

https://i.imgur.com/E9wmp9r.jpg

A couple of stages are set up to showcase different Chinese tales.

The Zodiac Race

The Monkey King (I recommend muting this one)

And of course, the legend of Guo Nian

Tianyan

Date: 2018-02-15 15:43 EST
The Lantern Festival

March the 2nd marks the 15th day of the first Lunar month of the New Year. There are a few legends as to why this day is important.

In one such legend, the Jade Emperor in Heaven was so angered at a town for killing his favorite goose, that he decided to destroy it with a storm of fire. However, a good-hearted fairy heard of this act of vengeance, and warned the people of the town to light lanterns throughout the town on the appointed day. The townsfolk did as they were told, and from the Heavens, it looked as if the village was ablaze. Satisfied that his goose had already been avenged, the Jade Emperor decided not to destroy the town.

In others, it is marked that the 15th day is the time to show thanks to the heavens. It is the first full moon of the New Year.

Activities

Lion Dances

Performed in pairs, these dances are done to vibrant percussion music.

Dragon Dances (skip to about 4:00 in to see the dance)

Performed in larger groups, great fabric or paper dragons are made to fly through the air in intricate patterns.

The Lantern Release

https://bmcontent.affino.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/012/sky_lanternschinese_lanterns_2_Main.jpg

The festival will conclude with the release of floating lanterns.

(this is the last official post)

Adriel

Date: 2018-02-17 16:03 EST
It was the sound of drums that drew Adriel towards the market that day. It was his wont these days to wander the city streets like some wraith, seeking, searching for something he might never find. He was a lost and weary soul, and the music, so bright and lively, made his heart race.

What wonders! What sights. Even on the feast days there was never such awesome calamity on Ilysia. He was used to great big bonfires and long tables filled with foods, but the music was positively sedate compared to this. Everything there had been stretches of pristine white.

This was a riot of colors and he felt his two little eyes weren't enough to take them all in. From the lanterns strung up above, to the clothing people wore, and the smells. The burning sulfur from spent firecrackers and sparklers. The foods being sold at nearby stalls.

A girl hefting a tray of samples walked by and Adriel's feet and stomach knew before he did that he was going to follow her. All she needed to hear was the rumble of his stomach to pass him a bao and he smiled brilliantly at her. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever eaten in his life.

He ate everything that was offered which included about ten feet of noodles, and did a little of all of the offered crafts. His lantern somehow came out crooked, but it was his, and he was too timid to wield the sharp blade for the paper cutting, though he took one to hang on his door.

At the shadow puppets he was probably every bit as noisy as the kids yelling at the screen.

When night fell and the sky lit up with fireworks he added his voice to cacophony. Did he believe that there was a demon out there that might come and destroy the city' Maybe, maybe not. But he sure wasn't going to sit idle just in case it was true.

He left the festival in the small hours of the night with a full belly and a full heart.

Mist Gul

Date: 2018-02-17 21:47 EST
Fireworks ablaze in the sky attracted Mist's attention. He cheerfully wandered into the block party, golden eyes dazzled with the displays and colors. The color fountains were gorgeous to him, and he collected them as he saw them of offer, lighting some off and hoarding others away.

It was not above him to add a little magic kick to the sparkle fountains, and sent tiny fireflies, butterflies and glowies swirling through the falling sparks. It was mostly for his own amusement, but it was always more fun to hear children cheer and laugh.

When he finally sat down, tempted by the noodles in particular, he watched a few of the shadow plays, head tilting in fascination as he followed the tales. He decided he would have to ask Eri about everything. She liked stories, he remembered.

Mist somehow collected a lot of the red envelopes, but on realizing they were filled with money, he carried them home to his village, and handed them out to the children there.

The next day, he shepherded the whole batch of older kids to the festival, amiably keeping track of them all as they ran through the marketplace to see all the shows, to make lanterns and participate in the paper cutting.

As the fireworks once more faded from the sky, Mist quietly loaded up the batch of kids into a horse drawn wagon, and directed his horses, Greg and Steven, back home.

Sira

Date: 2018-02-18 14:54 EST
Sira had been a little surprised when she heard there was a lunar festival taking place in the market. She couldn't recall if there had been past spectacles, but she always loved going to the various festivals back home and was excited to check it out.

She took her time to wind through the stalls and check out all of the wares. She didn't try her hand at any of the crafts, preferring to spend her money on the goods the artisans were offering. So she ended up with a beautiful lotus shaped lantern and a few small silk paintings featuring birds and blossoms.

Her purchases were complete when she found a beautiful vintage caftan, a tea set, and her final impulse buy was a carved jade pendant.

Laden with bags she headed home well before the fireworks went off.

Tats

Date: 2018-03-01 20:23 EST
https://ak2.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/cid/235994843/id/EK2l_a8d6BGIdfzfiWqlIQ/size/l.jpg

Through out the Year of the Dog Festival, the Comic Shop owner could be seen wandering and participating in the activities offered on various days. One day, he spent more time around the food, eating his favorite foods offered from the vendors. Barbecue pork Xiaobao, spring rolls and Tanghulus. Nearly every visit, he could be seen tossing a tangerine up in the air and catching it, just for it to magically disappear eventually....in his stomach.

Other days, he could be seen at the lantern station where he could make and paint a lantern to give away to strangers with a crooked smile and wishing them a good new year. He'd tested his hand at the papercutting station, but took that one home to give to his best friend Skittles.

http://www.designtos.com/postpic/2011/04/chinese-paper-cut-art-panda_631721.jpg

He could even be spotted at other times, sitting among the children at the Shadow Theater to watch in a mesmerized trance and smile at the plays and tales.

Spantaneous visits to watch the Fireworks, particularly on the 16th and 17th, he could be seen dancing with a handful of kids and teaching them how to write and draw in the air with the handheld spanklers, laughing and smiling with them. But when it became more dancing than playing with spanklers, the Dancer had taught a couple of the kids some of his own moves that had been simplified but no less fun....and some of the classics too. "See, this one is called the Moonwalk....and if you really wanna add some flair to it....turn it into the Running Man, like this!"

Every day was a build up to the finale, and the day he was most excited about. He stayed nearly that whole day - sampling even more of the food, painting a new lantern to give away...but when it came time for the Lion Dances and Dragon Dances, he could be seen on the sidelines watching with a crooked smile and almost in a trance for each one, though seemed to get more excited over the Lion Dances.

Come time for the lantern release, he'd lit his lantern and sent it into the masses drifting upward, mesmerized completely by the sight.

When he left, he bought a red Rastaclat bracelet, along with a red and gold Year of the Dog zippo as mementos to the occasion.

Ancelin Aya

Date: 2018-03-02 19:44 EST
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ca/49/f5/ca49f52f9f64704c1fb64487faec03f5.jpg

Ancelin was there on a handful of days—no way he wasn't going to get in on scaring away the rampaging nian. He helped himself to some Longevity Noodles and a tangerine before he caught the first fireworks display on the 16th. On another day, he showed up at the lantern painting station, intent on painting one — or trying to, anyway— only to have one handed to him by a beautiful stranger instead. That night he hung the gifted lantern in a place of honor at his little hideaway.

...The hideaway he spent the most time in, anyway.

On yet another day, he stopped by the papercutting station, and after perusing the wares on offering (possibly even purchasing one), he tried his hand at the art in kind. It wasn't the most elaborate piece, but it pleased him immensely.

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/47/1f/38/471f382463cd894cd291321ccc00666c.jpg

On the final day, he was back, accepting a red packet to honor his dead and chase the ghosts away, stopping to watch the shadow puppet theater on his way to see the Lion Dances. He hung out in the crowd, making friends with whomever was around to talk to, dancing, cavorting and generally having an excellent time celebrating with his new acquaintances. The smile on his face was practically permanent, and he stayed all the way until the last lantern had been lit and sent up into the sky.

Takara

Date: 2018-03-02 21:20 EST
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/23/f4/83/23f483cbe814795f04fc0db890db32c9.jpghttps://i.pinimg.com/564x/0b/39/d8/0b39d8706549d60ddf3eef1266777d2f.jpg

"So where is he" Do you see him?"

Takara and Phoenix arrived at the Lunar New Year Festival together on its final day. The young woman had agreed to come only because Phoenix insisted there was someone vital to their mission who would make an appearance, and she was intently focused on finding this person as they combed their way through the rows of food and souvenir vendors.

"Okay, but don't you want to try the dumplings?" "No, I want to find this guy. What does he look like?" "A little under six feet, black hair, dark eyes."

That wasn't saying much, most of the people they met looked like that. Sometimes their hair was more brown. He had stopped at one of the vendors, pointing again, "He's around here, doing something. You sure you don't want to try the dumplings?" He reached into his back pocket, the edge of his thumb combing in between some bills so that he could tug one out to pay.

"What does six feet mean' Is that tall" It's tall." She said, her eyes skirting restlessly from person to person in the crowd. It wouldn't occur to her for some time yet how completely generic his description had been. "No, I don't want any dumplings. Get them if you want, I'll keep looking."

So it went for most of the afternoon. Tsuru asking additional questions about this mysterious "guy", Phoenix providing increasingly hazy answers, all the while trying to lure her in to the festivities. She didn't want to paint lanterns, she didn't want to look at the paper cuts. She did finally, begrudgingly, accept a tangerine.

Their progress was stymied by the lion and dragon dancers. It reminded her very suddenly of the way she'd spent the previous lunar new year, at that celebration being held by the upscale jeweler in the marketplace. She'd been so new here still, then, so completely charmed to find a remnant of her homeland here in this strange and uncertain place.

Now though, it made her sad, only adding to her frustration. A full year here in this place. So much had happened, but so little had yet been accomplished. She looked away from the dancers, her gaze trained on the ground as she found her composure.

"Hey," he saw it all over her face and he touched her at the elbow, turning towards her, "I know you care so much because you love so much, but I think" you know" you have to get out there and be part of the thing you love. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should smile. Smile and eat one of these," he pulled a dumpling out of his brown paper bag with his pair of chopsticks, holding it in front of her mouth.

"Who said anything about love?" She asked, confusion flaring in dark eyes. "I have to complete this mission and end this war. So much time has passed already that I—" she looked away, ignoring the dumpling, taking a deep breath and searching the crowd anew for the missing contact.

And promptly did a double take. There in the distance, for just a moment, she would have sworn she'd seen Him, the Shadow. Her heart flipped queerly in her chest and she searched again, looking for another glimpse of him, but whatever she'd thought she'd seen was gone. A trick of the light, or a lonely heart, homesick for a home there would never be any going back to.

A trick of the light.

Looking back up at Phoenix, comprehension filled her expression slowly. "There is no contact. We're not here to see anyone."

Phoenix followed where she looked, the expression on her face and then when the truth dawned, "No, nobody's coming." He sighed and then cleared his throat, "I know you're focused but...like....a poem is written when you get inspired, not when you're staring at the page. I thought' maybe if you weren't staring at the page so hard that maybe you'd smile and we might even get somewhere. Staring at the problem all day isn't going to get us the answers."

Conflicted emotions at war in her mind, she kept her face placid as she'd been trained for so long to do. Anger and then irritation, an increasing frustration at seeing the day wasted, finally exhaustion. Taking a deep breath, she let it out again slowly. There was no sense in fighting about it. "Fine. We'll do the floating lanterns, then. Perhaps they will carry our troubles away."

"Yeahhhh!?" A large, somewhat goofy smile spread over his lips. It challenged her to not smile along with him. He saw the hard emotions on her face and then motioned, "I think you're going to like the lanterns, you know, if you let yourself."

"I don't remember how to like anything, Phoenix," she said quietly. "I will smile one day, when there's a reason."

((written with Back Alley Phoenix))

Desdenova VonTombs

Date: 2018-03-03 18:44 EST
Trouble showed up but was reasonably well behaved, most of the time. Desdenova may have caused a few lion puppets to emote a bit more than usual, perhaps to barf out a lot of red cut paper butterflies, and possibly there was an incident with the noodles, but for the most part, Nile and Desdenova romped through the festivities laughing and having a grand time.

Desdenova handed out tangerines from his own tree, and they both collected red envelopes. Because money.

"This is like Tangled!" Nile cheered as she watched the lanterns fly. Desdenova sucked his cheeks in, then nodded decisively.

"M' not singing."

Nile beamed and held up the necklace he'd given her. He narrowed his eyes, then blushed lucky red, hearing his own voice singing from the little blue labradite stone.

After a few moments, Nile sang along absently, gaze on the sky. Desdenova joined in soon after.

https://i.imgur.com/ZZxiduO.jpg