At Bryant Park, A Lesson in Curling from the Canadians (A Slideshow)

The Canadians have been generous to New Yorkers this holiday, providing the amusement of Celsius, their temporary restaurant and bar in Bryant Park, with special Wednesday night events. Today, they brought us a lesson in curling, a sport that looks to the novice much like a busy housekeeping chore on ice, with its swishing of the broom. The event was called "Curl Up with Canada," a cute enough name not to miss.

Seeing the sport in person for the first time, like I did this afternoon, made me appreciate its subtlety and skill. As our friends to the north set up a nice prize package for those willing to try their hand at curling, many people lined up to take their turn. A woman way older than me took a shot at it, and she did pretty well. I didn't stick around to see who won, but I stayed around long enough to learn some of the terminology. It was clear to me that it was harder than it looked to direct the stone rock to the house.