Crouching Kitties Hidden Sheep
The Lunar New Year Tết Festival last weekend was interesting and had some terrific food, but I’d have to say I had a lot more fun at the Chinese New Year Festival today. A lot of it had to do with the really great performances (the Naruwan Taiko group drew a huge crowd and they were awesome. I highly recommend seeing them if you have a chance), the energetic and personable MCs, and the somewhat intimate layout of the festival downtown which is really a feat considering the size of the city.
This year is the year of the sheep/ram/goat. (This isn’t clear because the Chinese character is inclusive of all these creatures. But “Year of the Horned Ruminant” doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it.) However, I saw few of these at the festival–only at a children’s puppet show and depicted on the t-shirts the local Chinese cultural association were selling. The big draw was mainly the dragon and lion dancers.
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A new cat cafe opened in San Diego last December. It’s not the first cat cafe to open in the US though. That honor goes to the one in San Francisco which opened last October. The cafe was on the same block as the festival so I figured I might as well pop in and see how it was like. I think this is a great idea to help cats from the local humane society to get adopted. So if you’re seriously thinking about adopting a cat, this is the place to go. If you’re a crazy cat enthusiast with grabby hands, however, this might not be for you. The employees really do look out for the cats’ well being and there are pretty strict rules for visitors.