Although most of us celebrate the new year on January 1st, there is plenty to celebrate according to the Lunar New Year calendar. On February 7th, we’ll welcome The Year of the Rat by announcing: “Gung Hay Fat Choy” (Cantonese) or “Gong Xi Fa Cai” (Mandarin) with hopeful wishes of prosperity.

The color red, a symbol of “good luck,” can be found everywhere on Chinese New Year. Grand festivities and lively celebrations are a cultural tradition. For those who can visit a Chinatown (located across the country in major metro areas), it’s not difficult to miss the startling sound of firecrackers and the deafening clamor of the gong, cymbals, and drums, followed by the elaborate costumes worn by Chinese lion dancers. The lion dancers transfix their audience by moving to the rhythm of the commotion, which resonates throughout the neighborhoods as they chase away evil spirits and bring good fortune.

If you’re looking for something a bit more tranquil, try a Chinese New Year Tea Tasting at the Cha Ma Gu Dao Teahouse to peacefully ease into the new year.If you like community events with parades and floats, the Chinatown Street Fair is a must! You and your family can enjoy dance and music, and also experience ancient and modern Chinese arts such as calligraphy, kite making and acrobatics.

What about the United States Miss Chinatown USA Pageant? Who will be crowned this year at the Palace of Fine Arts on February 16th? For almost 50 years, young women from throughout the United States have come to San Francisco to compete for prizes and scholarships in the annual Miss Chinatown USA Pageant. The winners will become goodwill ambassadors for the Chinese community throughout the year.

If you’re hungry, wander through the Chinese enclaves and arouse your sense with different flavors, smells and aromas. Try a dim sum restaurant like Chau Chow Dim Sum for a tasty sampling of Chinese lunch dishes or indulge your family with an authentic 10-course banquet dinner feast at Empress Pavilion Restaurant.

If you’re really serious about Chinese culture and language, try taking a Mandarin language course or a 15-day study abroad trip to China. What better time to learn to speak the native tongue…especially with the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics just around the corner?

Go ahead and celebrate 2008 a second time around! It’s a great excuse for another New Year’s celebration…but this time with a cultural twist!

Photo/Video Credits: Flickr User: T.O. Wong - Year of The Rat, YouTube User: Kleinkill, Pageant: 2007 Miss Chinatown Court

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Things are heating up for the presidential candidates as they aggressively campaign across the country in pursuit of the official party nominations. In exactly one week, twenty-four states will hold primary elections on Super Tuesday (February 5th) to select the delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions. According to CNN Politics, Super Tuesday is “the biggest single-day showdown of the race.” A record-breaking voter turnout is anticipated on both sides.

Although Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton, swept through Florida today, rival Barack Obama is still energized by his South Carolina win last Saturday. John Edwards, who is trailing far behind without a single victory continues to forge ahead, confidently asserting that he is still the “strongest general election candidate.”

On the Republican front, top candidates battling it out are Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee. Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani remains the underdog.

The day before Super Tuesday (February 4th), join the Identity Politics and the Presidential Election symposium for an engaging talk about race, gender, religion and sexuality in the upcoming presidential election with Stanford University Professors Clay Carson, Michele Elam, Paula Moya, and Deborah Rhode. Facilitating discussion about the candidates can certainly be helpful if you’re still trying to finalize your decision.

If you’re interested in volunteering to help run campaign booths, there are plenty of ways to get involved - just contact your nearby representative. If you’re politically charged and are organizing events in your local area, be sure to add them to the Zvents search index!

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The nominations for the 80th Academy Awards were finally announced last week, by Academy President Sid Ganis and Oscar winner Kathy Bates. Of course, we’ll expect to see the traditional glitz and glamour of A-list celebrities decked out in their stunning haute couture - sauntering along the red carpet and posing deliberately for the obsessive paparazzi. Without a doubt, The Kodak Theater at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles, California will be the prime scene on Oscar night, February 24, 2008.

Unfortunately, not all of us can obtain a coveted seat to the awards show, but if you’re a fan…there are plenty of other ways to take part of the cinematic excitement:

Join Oscar Talk with Jan Wahl, the celebrated movie critic and film historian, who will dish the dirt about the upcoming Academy Awards on Saturday evening, February 2nd at Landmark Vineyards. Win prizes for playing movie trivia…and partake in a lively discussion about whether George Clooney or Daniel Day-Lewis should take home the golden statuette!

See for yourself the Oscar Nominated Short Films Program on February 21st which will contain many of the narrative live-action and animated shorts that are in the running for the 2008 Academy Awards. This is one special category that we don’t often get to see much of!

On February 23rd, the night before the Oscars, walk the red carpet to Oscar-winning music including favorites from Lord of the Rings, Titanic and The Sound of Music with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s: “Off To the Oscar’s” performance.

For those who like extravagant galas and like to be treated like a star, attend a gala event on the official Oscar night: February 24th! There’s the “Oscar Night America - Raleigh” event at Theater in the Park in North Carolina or “Oscar Night America - Buffalo” - both officially sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Hard Rock Cafe in Boston will be hosting The Ellie Fund charity gala for breast cancer with proceeds benefitting the innovative Care for the Caregiver program.

Take note that there are only 26 days left until the live telecast hosted by Jon Stewart! Be sure to stay tuned to see which of the lucky contenders will get to take home Mr. Oscar! Can we say cha-ching?!!?

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If you’re a fan of fromage (that’s French for cheese), crazy for queso, or just cheered by cheese, then you might want to work one of these cheese events into your plans.

Top 5 Cheese Festival Picks:
(listed chronologically)

California’s Artisan Cheese Festival
March 7 - Petaluma, CA
Four days to learn about and taste artisan cheese…and that it happens to be in Sonoma wine country is a bonus!

Oregon Cheese Festival
March 15 - Central Point, OR
Sample cow, sheep and goat cheese from Oregon and northern California creameries.

Seattle Cheese Festival
May 16-18 - Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA
Taste more than 200 cheeses from local and international producers along the cobblestone street.

Amish Country Cheese Festival
Labor Day Weekend, August 30–September 1 - Arthur, IL
National Cheese Eating Championship. Need we say more?

Riverbank Cheese & Wine Exposition
October 11 & 12 - Riverbank, CA
Cheese and wine, together at last! Taste California wines and cheeses, and enjoy the street fair.

And there is much, much more cheese goodness in the world, including cheese tasting classes, and even cheese-making school! Here’s a more extensive list of 2008 Cheese Festivals & Events.

Cheese History:
Many historians believe that cheesemaking originated in the Middle East about 5,000 years ago. One legend cites the “discoverer” of cheese was an Arab nomad, who had filled his drinking bladder with milk to sustain him for a long journey across the desert. While resting on his trip, he discovered that the milk had separated into a watery liquid and solid white lumps. His drinking bladder was made from the stomach of a young animal, which contained a coagulating enzyme known as rennin. The rennin separated the curds (solid white lumps) and whey (watery liquid). And thus the first cheese was born…though it probably didn’t taste anything like a nice wedge of Stilton!

Photo credit: Flickr user cathou_cathare

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Super Bowl XLII is just around the corner in Glendale, Arizona, just west of Phoenix in the new home of the Phoenix Cardinals, University of Phoenix Stadium. The new digs are a replacement to the Cardinal’s long time home at ASU Stadium in Tempe and the 88 luxury suites and 25 acres of surrounding retail and entertainment make for the ideal destination for this year’s big game.

We all, perhaps, think of the Super Bowl not for the game itself but the commercials, half time show, and guacamole (it has been said that American’s eat more guac on Super Bowl Sunday than the rest of the year combined) but we at Zvents noticed that it isn’t about Sunday as much as as the amazing list of things to do in Phoenix leading up to February 3rd.

Catch Chris Rock, February 2nd, at The Best Damn Super Bowl Party Period as he performs at their after party live at Ultra Lounge at Prive Super House. If you are lucky enough to score tickets, go for the entire event which starts Thursday with Jenny McCarthy, Ludacris and Holly Robinson Peete of the Hollyrod Foundation who is in town for fashion show fund raiser, “Gridiron Glamour.”

If fashion is your thing (wait… this is a football game isn’t it?), players wives come together to host the Off the Field Fashion Show, a benefit for the Phoenix Children’s Hospital on February 1 from 10am - 2pm. The event gives attendees an opportunity to visit the new SouthBridge real estate and retail development in Scottsdale, said to rival Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive.

Rather party with the celebs? Just opened Taste Ultra Lounge is hosting Friday Night Lights on February 1st with Hugh Hefner, Jessica and Ashlee Simpson, and Jamie Foxx making an appearance. The “Tao inspired nightclub” has been one of the hottest places to be in Arizona since its opening in October, 2007.

On January 31st, P. Diddy (or is it just Diddy now?) is hosting a block party outside mega club Axis/Radius in Scottsdale. This two-story dance club has been a Scottsdale epicenter for over a decade and continues to throw the best party in town. You might as well bring a sleeping bag (or Red Bull) to stay first in line for Snoop Dogg on Friday night, Kid Rock and Bud Bowl on Saturday, and (ahem) Girls Gone Wild after the Super Bowl.

If you get past the crowd and inside Axis/Radius on Thursday, you’ll find Nick Lachey hosting the Super Skins Kick Off Party while P. Diddy performs under the stars. We encourage you to find a moment of peace from all this hype and sign up with Nick for the Superskins Celebrity Golf Classic. Multi-platinum recording artist Nick Lachey and two-time reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson have partnered with Prime Cuts Productions to form the Super Skins Celebrity Golf Classic prior to Super Bowl XLII. Proceeds from the event, a special Super Skins Online Auction and Super Skins Party, will benefit multiple charities including “The Nick Lachey Foundation” and ” The Jimmie Johnson Foundation.”

Believe it or not, we’ve just scratched the surface and we’re out of breath. Take advantage of Navteq’s Map Network Super Bowl XLII Event Guide which covers just about everything going on in Phoenix related to the game; otherwise, search Zvents for much more in town or stay tuned and we’ll share other opportunities to party in desert.

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