“Hey, everybody! I’m Sophie Albers and this is Roland Luwrie, JC, and Pauline. And we’re here at Dinosaur City to welcome you all to the Lunar New Year Festival!”
“That’s right, Sophie,” said JC, “And this year is going to be a special one. This is the beginning of the Year of the Dragon, possibly the most auspicious sign to be born under in the Chinese zodiac.”
“And since its first year, Animalia has celebrated the Lunar New Year. And to tell us more, we now turn our attention to the stage,” said Pauline.
Here, the camera zoomed to show they were at Dino Stadium, where a stage had been set on one end of the field. Here, using curtains and lights, a shadow puppet show was set up in the ancient Chinese style. Of course, considering how big the arena was, the puppets were much larger than normal so that everyone could see them.
First, there was a parade of animals across the curtain. First came the rooster, followed by the dog, pig, rat, ox, tiger, and rabbit. “Each year, there have been contests centered around the new sign of the zodiac. Animalia started in a Year of the Monkey, but it was far past the Lunar New Year of that year. So Animalia’s first Lunar New Year was the Rooster,” said JC.
“And even since that first year, people have wondered what Animalia will do when it comes to the one mythical (or depending on who you talk to on the internet, extinct) animal in the zodiac, the dragon,” said Roland. Here, the long shadow of a Chinese dragon crossed the curtain, looking less substantial than the other animals.
“But then, quite unintentionally, a new discovery was made with the Animalia virus,” said Sophie, “A lifeform that was unexpected to be possible was created.” Here, the shadow puppet of a Tyrannosaur appeared, though given it had small horns, it could be assumed to be a Syntixisaurus. Sophie didn’t go into detail of how Heather became a Dinotopian nor her attempted actions after that. Heather had long since been forgiven and bringing it up again and again wasn’t going to do anyone any good.
“And from that first Dinotopian, others soon followed,” said Pauline, “Their numbers and varieties expanding until we have three separate colonies for them, with a fourth coming later.” More shadow puppets of various dinosaurs appeared on the curtain. It was rather interesting how the Chinese shadow puppet style showed the different kinds of dinosaurs. And not just dinosaurs, but pterosaurs and ancient sea reptiles.
“And yes, we’re quite aware that dinosaurs aren’t the same as dragons, despite what some media depicts them as,” said Roland, “However, there is a strong theory that unearthed dinosaur fossils inspired several dragon legends and other mythical creatures. So, they’re the closest things we’re ever going to get to real dragons.”
“And here they come now,” said JC as a spotlight went to a set of doors on the other side of the stadium. The first thing that came through the door was a group of people doing a dragon dance. The puppet they carried was a real work of art, its scales a mix of red, gold, and green. The head was beautifully done and the mouth opened and shut as it moved. The puppet weaved side to side as it went along, like the dragon was flying through the air. Behind the dragon dancers came the Dinotopians. Just from the first ones walking it was clear how many different kinds there were. And notably mixed among them were a few Komodo dragons and one pair of seahorses, as they were extant species that are probably closer to modern people’s idea of dragons.
“As you can see, Dinotopians have a lot more variety than the previous animals, even the dogs,” said Sophie, “So it would be very hard to do fair contests for all of them. As such, the number of contests will be narrowed down compared to previous years. We have the pageant for both men and women, a few physical competitions for the Land Dragons, Sea Dragons, and Sky Dragons, and then the race up Zodiac Mountain.”
“And don’t forget the Fire-Breathing Curry contest,” said Pauline.
“That’s more of an optional contest than a requirement,” said Sophie, “Contestants won’t lose points if they don’t want to enter it, but it could give them a needed boost if they’re lagging behind.”
“We’ll be bringing you all that and more as the Lunar New Year Festival progresses,” said JC, “And also watch Animalia’s other activities during the February Festivities.”
“Those will be covered by other members of Animalia Ambassadoria. So stay tuned and get ready for more dragon fire,” said Roland.
==========
"You think 'dragon fire' works?" asked Roland as they rewatched the footage, "I mean, Asian dragons aren't known as fire-breathers as much as Asian dragons."
"Asian dragons tend to vary a lot," said Sophie, "Maybe they're more associated with water than fire, but I'm sure there are some who can breathe fire."
"Anyways, they're still doing that curry-eating contest, so it's still relevant," said Pauline.
"Kinda wish we were participating this year," said JC.
"There was enough pressure on Jessie when she was in the competition last year," said Sophie, "I'd rather not have to live up to too much fan-hype."
"Well, shall we get going?" asked Roland, "We still need to have dinner with our parents."
"Yes, and I'm wondering what this big surprise they've got is," said Sophie.