We had two shows today at Novel Hall in Taipei – today is New Year’s Eve and we are a part of the CrossOver activities. City Hall is across the street and the 101 Building (the tallest building in the world) is only a couple of blocks away. The city closed down the streets around 4pm this afternoon and about 400,000 people made their way into the downtown area to participate in the activities, eat the food, listen to concerts and check out our performances at Novel Hall. It’s really hard to put into words what it’s like to be a part of something like this.
Both shows went very well – great audiences and wonderful volunteers from the crowd. The evening performance was videotaped and we’ll be getting a copy of that in the coming months. The poster they used to promote the show was pretty cool.
After the show was over and packed away, we all met in the Green Room with the staff, crew, family and friends of Novel Hall for a toast to the New Year and some food. We had a great time just relaxing…and then came the special treat. We were escorted to the private rooftop of the Bank of China where we had the best view in the city of Taipei of the 101 Building. The fireworks display was promoted as the most spectacular display ever – and it was!
The fireworks went on for 3 or 4 minutes of non-stop explosions that filled the Taipei sky! Cindy was clicking pictures as fast as she could and I had the video camera in hand. We have lots of images and footage to go through and I hope to get something posted in the next couple of days. The view was too amazing for us not to take a photo opportunity.
After everything was over, we all went back down to the Green Room for a little “Hot Pot” party that was put together by the Novel Hall Ushers. This is a Taiwanese tradition where friends and family all get together with a celebration of food. I guess it’s like a pot luck dinner in the states except they cook it all in the SAME pot! And, yes, I have video!
We’ve had our picture taken hundreds of times today – at the theatre, on the rooftop, and on the street. Everyone here is so friendly and we are honored and thrilled that we’ve been so accepted by the city.