Fantasia's Fiesta: Birthday Party for a Burmese Python

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Fantasia's Fiesta

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uploaded by jordan

In Latin American culture, the quinceaños (15th birthday) is a pretty big deal: the quinceañera is queen for a day, and family and friends get together celebrate her coming of age. From what I saw in a local paper at a pizza place off Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, this tradition also applies to giant pythons.

Fantasia, a 22-ft, 225-lb Albino Burmese python, is turning fifteen, and the whole city is invited to celebrate. On May 9-10, the Brooklyn Children's Museum will host Fantasia's Fiesta, a series of educational events to introduce kids and grownups alike to both the quinceaños tradition and the science of snakes. If I still lived in the city, I'd be there.

So, if you are in New York, swing by and give the birthday girl my best.