Dragon Dance

Postcard US-3372308 to Finland shows a Kung Fu team performing the dragon dance at Chinatown Plaza in Las Vegas on February 22, 2015. Dancers manipulate the poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the flexible dragon body, mimicking the supposed movements of this mystic creature in a sinuous, undulating manner.

Similar to the lion dance and often performing together, the dragon dance can usually be seen during the Chinese New Year celebrations.  It was a highlight during the Year of the Monkey Spring Festival at Chinatown on Spring Mountain Road earlier today.

Dragon dance at Chinatown Plaza in Las Vegas on February 21, 2016

Temple Fair

Postcard TW-1496908 from Taiwan shows scenes from a typical Temple Fair (廟會 in traditional Chinese or 庙会 in Simplified Chinese) in Taiwan. Temple Fair, originated from China, is a cultural gathering traditionally held near temples. In modern times, Temple Fairs are usually held in many regions throughout Asia during the time of the Spring Festival. Activities usually include worshiping Chinese deities, martial art demonstrations, folk art performances, and craft and food shopping.

Today in its 21st year, the Chinese American Chamber of Commerce and the Chinatown Plaza in Las Vegas are jointly hosting the annual Chinese New Year Celebration and Asian Food Festival, similar to a traditional Temple Fair in all aspects except for being on a city plaza rather than a temple ground. The program features many traditional food and craft vendors, with dragon and lion dance, martial art, acrobats, Kung Fu, Hip Hop dance, and folk dance performances from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Dragon dance at Chinatown Plaza in Las Vegas on February 22, 2015

Dance 4 A Course under the High Roller

As part of the CNY in the Desert 2015 celebration, Fighting United hosts a free "Dance 4 A Cause" event, the largest Dance a thon on the Las Vegas strip to celebrate Chinese New Year while getting fit, under the backdrop of the High Roller at the LinQ parking lot on Saturday February 21, 2015.

Participants are asked to bring a gently used or preferably new K-12 book for donattion to Spread the Word Nevada and Clark County School District. You can also select your very own cause by choosing fighting for AUTISM, HUNGER or CANCER by donating $25 or $50, to get an event T-Shirt and dance in your own special "Pick Your Cause” or VIP Section.

Postcard US-3038661 to Germany shows one of the 28 passenger capsules on the High Roller, which weighs 44,000 pounds or 20,000 kilograms each with a diameter of 22 feet or 6.7 meters and an area of 225 square foot or 20.9 square meters. It can host 40 passengers each with a total capacity of 1,120 passengers for a full ride. Each capsule is individually rotated by electric motors to maintain a stable horizontal cabin floor throughout the rotation.

Let's Get to Know Each Other

Zumanity, billed as "the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil," is a "adult-themed" cabaret-style show featuring erotic songs, dances, and acrobatic acts at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The show celebrated its 10th anniversary on September 20, 2013. 

However, a recent article from Las Vegas Sun reports that Zumanity will go dark on January 3, 2015 to undergo major changes, and the majority of its cast members will be laid off.

Postcard US-2248696 to Texas shows Faun, a half-man-half-beast devilish spirit with boundless energy from Zumanity.

Badlands

I got this postcard from a Capital Pride Festival in Washington D.C. more than 10 years ago, showing Badlands that was located near the Dupont Circle and first opened in 1983. Once billed as Washington D.C.’s most progressive and longest running gay dance club, it later changed its name to Apex and was abruptly shutdown on July 5, 2011 after 28 years. The space, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Codman Carriage House and Stable, is now occupied by Phase One of Dupont, a 21+ lesbian venue.

Today, for the first time in the Annual Capital Pride Parade's 39-year history, the U.S. Armed Forces color guards marched along with the rainbow flag. An eight-member color guard team from the U.S. Army Military District of Washington led off the parade, started at 4:30 pm on June 7, 2014. It is the same team that presents the flags at congressional and White House events. The Department of Defense authorized the participation. Celebrations continue tomorrow at the Capital Pride Festival from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm on June 8, 2014.

If Not Now, Then When?

June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, as declared in a proclamation by President Barack Obama on May 30, 2014, calling on Americans to eliminate prejudice “everywhere it exists.”

Presented by Human Rights Campaign, UNLV Spectrum, LGBT Bar Association and Freedom Nevada, a special preview screening of the HBO Documentary "The Case Against 8" was held at the Student Union Theater, University of Nevada, Las Vegas at 2 p.m. today. The film offered a behind-the-scenes look inside the historic case to overturn California Proposition 8 that bans same-sex marriage in the state. It highlights that "battles are won because they are fought!" The documentary will premiere in theaters on June 6, 2014 and debuts on HBO on June 23, 2014.

The postcard to Taiwan, one of several from the Cirque du Soilei show Zumanity, depicts a scene where "the lovers dance a tumultuous tango. Through their fierce choreography, a passionate story of love and anger unfolds. Again and again they attract and repel in intense conflict until the magnetic energy between them becomes more than they can bear."

Electric Daisy Carnival

Summer Display at Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Las Vegas 2013 starts a few hours ago in the evening on June 21, 2013 and will last for three days until June 23, 2013. It is an international annual electronic dance music festival that drew more than 300,000 people last year in 2012. It is held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway where the organizer Insomniac has transformed this 1,000-acre race field into six areas of music, carnival rides, vendor village, interactive art installations and other festival attractions. Sirius XM channel 52 has EDC radio throughout this weekend.