Dragon Fest will feature dragon and lion dances, Japanese drumming, and many more performances.
By Staff
Northwest Asian Weekly
Thousands of visitors will make their way to Seattle’s Chinatown on July 13 and 14 to enjoy a weekend of entertainment and international cuisine designed at the neighborhood’s annual Dragon Fest.
To accommodate growing demand for the annual “$2 ID Food Walk,” event organizers have expanded the event’s footprint on S. King St. and created a stand-alone menu that offers a greater selection for this year’s festival-goers. An additional 11 restaurants have joined the Food Walk, including neighborhood newcomers Bun (featuring Vietnamese Five Spice Chicken Wings) and the Eastern Café (which will be serving Paradiso Iced Teas).
“With three new neighborhood restaurants opening this summer, and eleven restaurants joining this year’s food walk, Chinatown is a buzz with new bites,” said Don Blakeney, the Executive Director of CIDBIA. “And this year we have added our new neighbors the Massive Monkees to the entertainment roster to round out this truly global block party.”
Festival-goers will still be able to find all of Chinatown’s restaurant staples, including Tai Tung, Sea Garden, Harbor City, Sun-Ya, Honey Court, Purple Dot, Sub-Sand, Fuji Bakery, and Henry’s Taiwan. Over 60 $2 menu items from across Asia and the Pacific will be featured this year. Diners who sample five or more of the participating restaurants will be eligible to enter a drawing at the event to win an iPad Mini and gift certificates to local businesses.
Lion and Dragon dances, Japanese taiko drumming, Chinese martial arts demonstrations, Asian drill team performances, and other multi-cultural entertainment will feature on the Dragon Stage, while children from around the region can take part in the variety of interactive Asian arts and crafts, including dragon mask making, face painting, lion dance lessons, and outdoor pinball machines.
To celebrate the Year of the Snake, the Pacific Northwest Herpetological Society will bring Hing Hay Park to life with live snakes and reptiles to educate and interact with children and families.
Chinatown’s 2nd Annual “$2 Double Happiness Hour” will also take place, giving attendees a chance to sample $2 drinks on July 13, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Festival will also feature an outdoor traditional Japanese sake and beer garden on July 13 and 14.
New this year, the Chinatown-International District has partnered with local high school radio station C-89.5 FM (KNHC) to host an outdoor “International Dance Party” below the historic Chinese gate on King Street. Local DJ Richard J. Dalton will play Top 40 dance tracks from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. on July 13. Hollywood Lights has been hired to install a 36” disco ball under the Chinese Gate for the late-night, all-ages dance party.
To close out the Festival, the producers of SakuraCon will partner with the Festival to promote the “4th Annual SakuraCon Anime Costume Contest” on the Festival Main Stage Sunday at 7 p.m. Japanese anime enthusiasts come from all over the region to participate in the competition. (end)
For more information about the $2 ID Food Walk, the 2nd Annual Double Happiness Hour, or Dragon Fest 2013 visit www.SeattleDragonFest.com. For more information on Chinatown-ID or District restaurants, visit www.SeattleChinatownID.com.
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