The snows of Kilimanjaro: The Village Independent Democrats political club decided to go with Eric Coler as their new president when they elected him back in December, in part, because of the 25-year-old’s youthful energy. Well — talk about vigor! — hey, this guy’s all over the place! He just reported that he climbed Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the other weekend. Reaching the summit of the 16,000-foot dormant volcano, Coler proudly unfurled the V.I.D. banner. “It was an incredible experience,” Coler told us, “very hard, but made it to the top and down safely.” Given the fierce competition between the local Democratic clubs — well, not really, though it actually did once used to be that way — let’s see if the presidents of Downtown Independent Democrats and Village Reform Democratic Club will now follow suit. Either way, though, only V.I.D. can proudly claim to be the first Downtown club to conquer the mighty African mountain. “We work hard for that Mt. Kilimanjaro vote!” Coler crowed.
Speaking of snow…and fire: Even the snows of Stella couldn’t stop them. On Tuesday night, a fire dancer performed at La Plaza Cultural, at E. Ninth St. and Avenue C, to celebrate Chaharshanbeh-Suri, an ancient Zoroastrian festival that uses fire to chase away the winter blues at the onset of spring and the Persian new year. At sunset, three small fires were lit in the East Village garden, and participants were invited to jump over them, to “exorcise” any misfortunes or sickness from the old year and welcome in the heat of the sun, as symbolized by the fire. This year, the kids even made a snow slide that was enjoyed by adults and children alike.
