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Canthan New Year 2010—The Tiger Descends

The Year of the Tiger is upon us—it's time for the annual Canthan New Year's Festival! Help honor the Celestial Tiger, a divine feline that will descend from the heavens to bestow good luck upon the populace for all of 2010—but only if the traditional New Year's feast meets the beast's heavenly standards!

The 2010 Canthan New Year's Festival begins at noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on Friday, February 12^th, 2010 and will run all weekend, ending at noon Pacific (-8 GMT) on Monday, February 15^th, 2010. On Sunday, February 14^th, the Celestial Tiger will come down from the sky every three hours to sample Canthan cuisine in Shing Jea Monastery.

The feast culminates in dancing, fireworks, and a shower of gifts and special prizes for festival-goers, but only if the Tiger is satisfied with the offering. You can ensure the Tiger's blessing of good fortune by helping prepare dishes for the feast.

In addition to the great feast, you can explore the Shing Jea Boardwalk, embark on a variety of festival-themed quests, and visit the wandering Fortune Teller for a glimpse of your destiny. Enjoy a little sport? Test your skill in the rollerbeetle races. Those who are feeling slightly more combative can visit the Dragon Arena all weekend long for some all-out dodgeball action.

Canthans living abroad won't be left out: Lion's Arch and Kamadan will also host smaller celebrations, complete with traditional New Year's decorations.

Mark your calendars and help the Celestial Tiger ring in the new year, Canthan style!

Festival Events

A grand feast, fireworks, dancing, fortunes, and high-stakes rollerbeetle racing—all this and more await you during the Canthan New Year's Festival. Here's what you can expect:

Satisfying the Celestial Tiger is a tall order, especially since every festival has a few unexpected problems for enterprising young adventurers to solve.

Want a preview of the coming year? The Fortune Teller can peer into your future and provide you with a very real, and legally binding, fortune. For good or ill, your destiny will follow you out into the world beyond Shing Jea.

Play games on the Shing Jea Boardwalk to earn tickets and boost your luck—or play to lose, and work your way down a different life track.

For you racing fans, make your way to the Rollerbeetle Races, where you'll be outfitted with your very own rollerbeetle racer, complete with its own set of racing skills.

Head over to the Dragon Arena for a brawling good time.

The Celestial Feast lets you participate in heated cooking competitions, where you'll help Canthan chefs prepare special dishes in honor of the Celestial Tiger. Each properly prepared meal earns a reward from the Tiger, but it's bad luck to displease the beast!

Festival Rewards

Here are some of the special items you might come across during the Canthan New Year's festival:

	Sugary Blue Drink It's sweet and oh-so-handy when you need a quick boost of speed.
	Champagne Popper A brief-but-spectacular treat for the eyes and ears. They're a blast!
	Bottle Rocket Set off a single-shot firework high overhead—please aim away from faces and moa birds.
	Sparkler Light this up to create a cloud of sparks over your head—stand clear of flammable objects.
	Red Bean Cake These sweet treats put some pep in your step.
	Bottle of Rice Wine The traditional festival beverage. Don't drink and quest!
	Red Gift Bag It's festive, it's red, and you'll never know what's in it until you open it.
	Lunar Fortune Find out for sure how good or bad your luck will be in the coming year.
	Lunar Token Collect these tokens throughout the festival and trade them in for prizes.
	Crate of Fireworks Open it inside your Guild Hall and move a safe distance away!
	Mystery Reward Satisfy the Celestial Tiger's appetite and you'll receive this special mystery reward at the end of the festival.

Special Rewards

In addition to the items mentioned above, lucky players may find one of the rare Celestial Tiger miniatures hidden inside a Lunar Fortune! Carry the divine beast's luck with you throughout the year!

If that's not enough to entice you, don't forget that if the Celestial Tiger fully enjoys its meal, all those attending the feast receive two exciting treats: the explosively entertaining Crate of Fireworks, and a special mystery reward! We'd like to summon a description of this gift for you—but then it wouldn't be a mystery, would it?