Get fired up for the Year of the Dragon
With Lunar New Year approaching on Feb. 10, there are plenty of events happening both on and off campus. The 15 days following the new moon will be filled with delicious food, intricate lion dances, firework shows and gift-giving in auspicious red envelopes. Get ready to welcome the Year of the Dragon in style.
CSA x VSA Lunar New Year
Rice’s Chinese Student Association and Vietnamese Student Association are hosting a joint showcase in the Rice Memorial Center’s Grand Hall Feb. 3 starting at 5 p.m. The $15 ticket price for Rice students and staff covers a bento box and boba, and the event includes dance, music, fashion and art from both Chinese and Vietnamese cultures.
College committee events
Check your college’s calendar for information about what’s in store. For example, Duncan College’s Cultural and Inclusion Committee is planning a get-together for Duncaroos and their friends to celebrate. The event includes dumpling making and a performance from Rice Lions, the official lion dance performance team.
Caffeinate to celebrate at Coffeehouse
Starting Jan. 28, you can enjoy Vietnamese iced coffee at Chaus while supplies last. They also have sesame balls and egg tarts for sale until Feb. 9.
Try a new treat
Located inside the Galleria, luxury chocolatier Cacao & Cardamom has Lunar New Year themed chocolates with flavors ranging from matcha and black sesame to ginger and citrus almond. Sample one of their boxes with some friends.
Pop up at a pop-up
POST Houston is holding a free event in collaboration with Jack Daniel’s whiskey Feb. 4. From noon to 9 p.m., the venue will host an Asian pop-up market with diverse foods, activity booths and two Lion Dance performances. Despite the collaboration, the event is open to all ages.
Hike to Hermann Park
Vietnamese-American owned cafe Sunday Press overlooks the lake and serves delicious breakfast, lunch and snacks to visitors of Hermann Park. Join them Feb. 10 for their annual Lion Dance celebration and try some of their uniquely flavored croissant swirls — the Fruity Pebble one is a must.
Support Houston businesses
When ordering in after a long evening at Fondy, consider a local Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant. Some amazing picks include FuFu’s Cafe, Hu’s Cooking, Kau Ba and Roostar. Make sure to get the “whole shebang” on your banh mi.
More from The Rice Thresher
‘Off the beaten track’: Commencement speakers through the years
A former American president, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Nobel laureates and the founder of Khan Academy. All may share similar traits or levels of fame, but there’s another, quieter, common ground: They’ve all spoken at Rice’s commencement.
Peggy Whitson breaks the glass ceiling, lands among the stars
Peggy Whitson has spent more time in space than any other American. She was the first female, nonmilitary Chief of the Astronaut Office for NASA and the first woman commander of the International Space Station, but despite all her success, Whitson denies any claims of special talent or giftedness. Above all else, she said, hard work and perseverance brought her to the top.
Sitting Around the Bonfire with Ben and Michael
Being a small school has benefits and disadvantages. Some claim that one of the drawbacks of being a relatively small campus and having a strong residential college program is that it is often difficult to find events or activities happening across campus. That’s where Benjamin Liu and Michael Mounajjed stepped in.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.