Chinese New Year Celebration at Asian Marketplace

Garland, Saturday, February 14

The place was packed when we arrived for a late breakfast at tony’s Diner on the Beltline corner of the Saigon Mall at Jupiter and Beltline. We know the mall recently changed hands and changed names, too. This Asian marketplace is a collection of restaurants, shops and personal grooming and healthcare products and services. This is a favorite shopping center for Garland’s large Vietnamese population.

As we strolled along the walkway toward the main entrance to the mall, we had to work our way through a crowd watching the dragons dance while firecrackers popped and cymbals clanged. There were 3 brightly colored and elaborately decorated “dragons”. There were 3 pairs of black shoes under each “dragon”, presumably containing 3 sets of human feet that were doing the traditional lion dance as they delighted the crowd as it followed them into the mall.

We followed the crowd and entered the mall, passing by the stage and rows of chairs for an audience that would be entertained by various performers once the “dragons” finished their parade through the supermarket and out again into the lobby area.

We were amazed with the large meat and fish area, as well as the produce department, that had several exotic fruits on display that we had never seen before. We were delighted to bump into Councilman Scott LeMay and his charming teen-aged daughter, Morgan. LeMay was carrying a large package containing what he described as the “best instant coffee in the world”. I was pleased to find some ginger tea in a long aisle of thousands of packages and hundreds of varieties of teas.

After checking out of the grocery store we strolled around the mall and watched school children perform some dance numbers before departing the festivities.

We felt very welcome among our Asian neighbors, and totally enjoyed the Lunar New Year celebration. The Year of the Horse is now history, as we celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Sheep. We intend to return to the mall for some serious shopping after the dragons’ gear has been stored away until next year. ********