I just realized that I didn’t have any post about the Rogers Chinese Lantern Festival in 2008. I posted the pictures on flickr, but not here. Why was that? Hmmmmm.. 
It was the third one and also the last one that we had here in Toronto. They didn’t have it in 2009, and it turned out that it apparently had been cancelled indefinitely. Sad. I was hoping they would have it this year, until I googled about it. So, just to make myself feel better, I thought I post some pictures from 2008.
It was an interesting mix of objects in 2008, we had buildings from around the world and all sorts of animals (the pandas were back!  ). You can see them on my flickr set, but here are some of them:
An Owl in the Enchanted Forest
The Dolphin Parade
World of Dinosaurs
Tower of Pisa
Statue of Liberty
Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood
Porcelain Pagoda
Click here to see the 2007 list and here for the 2007 flickr set.
And the 2006 posts (not on flickr): Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Extra Day
So, another big winter storm is passing over Toronto at this moment, dumping lots of fresh snow on the ground — I guess it’s good for those who like to ski (or winter in general). But being a tropical girl, I have enough of the cold & white stuff this year .. I want spring!!
Being “grounded” at home by Mother Nature, I decided to go through some of my pics that I haven’t had time to post yet (where did the time go?? ), and it’s nice to see pics of fire (controlled, of course .. not wild fire) — they make me feel like as if I were sitting in front of a camp fire. These are from last month’s Wintercity Festival downtown in Nathan Phillips Square. They made some sculptures of fire (in pots & things). Very neat!
More pics in my Wintercity Festival 2008 flickr set.
We went to try a Korean BBQ restaurant on Queen St. West (a couple of blocks west of University Ave) after the “show” .. the food quality was so-so (except for the tiny meatball side dish), and service was awful. I don’t think I’ll be going there again. :/
That’s not too bad .. Rogers Chinese Lantern Festival in 30 days (and a bit ) .. could’ve been longer had I not combine a few of them together (they had “part 1″, “part 2″ for some exhibits). LOL!
Anyway, to recap, here are the links to this year’s Rogers Chinese Lantern Festival (also on my Chinese Lantern Festival 2007 flickr set — I posted more pics there than what I’ve posted here):
And for those who wants to see more, here are last year’s 14 Days of Lantern posts (not on flickr): Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Extra Day
A classic novel of Chinese literature, The Water Margin takes place during the last years of the Northern Song Dynasty. It is a heroic poem that closely follows the 108 heroes’ successes and failures during their revolution against the feudalist society.
As a refreshment … here are last year’s 14 Days of Lantern posts: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Extra Day
Xi’an: In second century BC, a Han Dynasty diplomat, Zhang Qian, ventured forth from Xi’an in China. Zhang Qian brought with him Chinese silk, porcelain and other precious treasures to the West. He also gook back to the East the cultural riches, such as grapes, pomegranates and walnuts. He opened …. linking China to the Western countries, the route became the famous – Silk Road.
Dunhuang: With the rise of the Sillk Road and its resultant commerce in trade and ideas, Dunhuang’s role and character altered. Though its importance as a garrison remained, it now doubled as a trading post and cultural centre.
Baghdad: In the eighth century, Baghdad was on the trade route reaching to China. Wander through a bazaar in legendary Baghdad – home of the Arabian Nights — one of the three greatest cities along the ancient Silk Road!
Italy: Italy was the last stop at the western end of The Silk Road where goods were taken to by ships from the great ports of Asia Minor and Palestine.
As a refreshment … here are last year’s 14 Days of Lantern posts: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Extra Day
Dragons are a symbol of Chinese Culture. All dragons represent strength, wisdom, luck, nobility, bravery, and the power of the monarchies.
As a refreshment … here are last year’s 14 Days of Lantern posts: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Extra Day
“The Fable of the White Serpent”, told an ancient fairytale about a love story of a White-Serpent Enchantress Bai Suzhen and a scholar, Xuxian. They married each other and gave birth to a little boy.
The Master Monk Fahai believed that the marriage between serpent and human will pose a threat to humans. As a result, Fahai separated Xuxian and Bai Suzhen by trapping Xuxian inside the Jinshan Temple in order to protect him.
To save Xuxian from the hands of Monk Fahai, the angered mother-to-be, Bai Suzhen called out to the water immortals to flood the Temple of Jinshan. Fahai also commanded marine life including crabs, mussels, shrimps, and fishes to fight against the White Serpent.
As a refreshment … here are last year’s 14 Days of Lantern posts: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Extra Day
The Emperor admires the lanterns from the Song Dynasty and joins visitors in celebration of the festival. The glittering gold decorations sparkle from the
powerful dragon boats in the Yangtze River.
As a refreshment … here are last year’s 14 Days of Lantern posts: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Extra Day
Last year, I thought of going to a place in the Beach area (Joseph Duggan Road) where they decorate a few front yards for Halloween. But considering that Halloween is on a Wednesday this year, I don’t think I can make it there after work. I think I’ll wait until Halloween is on a weekend. ;P
Just a reminder for those who are going trick-or-treat-ing: be good and be safe!
Wear “visible” clothing, stay in a well-lit area, don’t wear a mask that’s limiting your vision, don’t eat anything that’s already open, go in groups, etc. Kids: go with an adult (whom you know, of course!), and give all the candies (and other goodies) to your parents for inspections. Parents: don’t eat all of the goodies (give some to the kids)! LOL!
OK .. enough advice (I’m sure you all know about it already — it’s everywhere, news, radio ).
So today, we went to the zoo for their “Boo at the Zoo!” event (last weekend and this weekend). This weekend, they had their staff to carve pumpkins!
Here’s one of the carved pumpkins that I like (I think it’s one of the “deep sea” fish — could be this one. Maybe next time, they’ll make Nemo out of pumpkin too .. Hehe):
More carved pumpkins from the zoo in my Halloween flickr set. Hmm … guess where I’ll be next year for Halloween.
Pinming Tea House is the most famous of all teahouses in China. The tea drinking ceremony would start with one cup of clear tea accompanied by the ancient melodies, and the tea drinker sitting next to a quiet lake. The heart becomes clear and calm, just like the tea in the cup.
As a refreshment … here are last year’s 14 Days of Lantern posts: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Extra Day
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