The Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce celebrated the first Chinatown Dragon Festival and dedicated the new Allen Lee Square at 23rd Street and Wentworth Avenue on Saturday, June 19, 1999. The festivities included a Dragon and Lion Dance, martial arts demonstrations, folk and sword dancing, a Chinese culinary arts display, and a play based upon the Chinese legend, The Tiger Hunters.The pictures that follow were taken at the festivities.
After the dedication of the Allen Lee Square, the festivities were turned over to a martial arts school, the name of which I cannot remember. The son of the owner of the martial arts school, pictured above, played the hero in The Tiger Hunters. He also announced some of the performances by the rest of the group.
This is one of the instructors. He performed a solo display, and another with a group of students. This was a display of a number of some type of positions (I cannot remember how many, or the name, though). The woman seated on the edge of the platform at the left did a lot of the announcing, and I believe she was a radio personality from a Chinese radio station.
This graceful dancer is also an attorney and was Miss Chinatown a few years back. There are three pictures here, joined into one, to give you an idea of some of her graceful movements.
These are the musicians for the Dragon Dance. As you can see, they played cymbals and ornate drums. Hey, guy! This is NOT a good time to blink! (On second thought, I guess it was not a good time for me to click the shutter, either.)
These are members of the martial arts group, putting on the dragon costumes. Each costume required two people, one for the front and one for the back. The guy with the stripes on his face was the tiger in the earlier play.
Colorful, ornate dragons, bobbing and weaving to the heavy drumbeat and rhythmic clash of cymbals.
Long eyelashes, blinking eyes, and mouths that open and close, as well as the snake-like motions, made a fascinating display that kept even the smallest child's attention.
Sometimes high, and sometimes low. They almost made it look easy, but it had to be a real workout for the performers.
A fascinating spectacle.
Sometimes all around the platform.
And an occasional acrobatic stunt, raising the dragon to spectacular heights.
Thats all the pictures I was able to get. Unfortunately, my camera started acting wierd, telling me there was not enough light, even though I believe there was. If you enjoyed these pictures, or if you know the names of the performers, radio personality and/or the martial arts school involved in the festival, please email me at LSW42@aol.com. I enjoy feedback from my web page, and I would like to give credit to the hard-working performers who kept us entertained.
Revised 08/22/99.