Color and Sunshine for Belated Lunar New Year

3/2/19 Gateway sculpture at Hing Hay Park

3/2/19 King Street

Postponed due to last month’s snowstorm, Lunar New Year was as festive and colorful as ever in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District yesterday. Despite temps in the mid-30s, the sunshine helped USk Seattle members stay warm in Hing Hay Park, where the bright red Gateway sculpture was a popular focal point for sketchers.

When the group met at the celebration two years ago, the street closures must have been different, because several of us were able to sketch from the middle of King Street with an unobstructed view of King Street Station and Chinatown Gate. This year, most of the merchant and food booths took up that space. I was determined, though, to squeeze all three neighborhood icons into this sketch at right: the station, the yellow gate and the red Gateway at far right.

The lion dance, of course, was the highlight of the festival, and I tried to capture as much as I could of the blur of red and yellow through the throngs.

 

3/2/19 lion dancer

As usual, I had a few minutes to kill before the throwdown, so I caught a few people snacking, watching the festivities or just hanging out in Hing Hay Park.

 

3/2/19 people at Hing Hay Park

Speaking of snacks, here’s something new I tried: a fish-shaped waffle from a food truck called Bean Fish Taiyaki. They offered different fillings, including a savory one with Spam, cheese and pineapple, but I opted for the “original,” which is a sweet bean paste that’s often used in Japanese confections. The fish shape was cute, and for a couple of seconds I considered sketching it. . . but it was warm, I was both cold and hungry, and I scarfed it down. So much for the sketch idea.

A sweet-bean-filled waffle! Sorry, no sketch.