Chinatown Lunar New Year celebration goes into full swing this weekend (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
Museum of Chinese in America (and other locations)
211 Centre St. between Howard & Grand Sts.
Thursday – Monday, $7 (free Thursdays 11:00 am – 9:00 pm)
212-619-4785
www.mocanyc.org
The Museum of Chinese in America will be celebrating the Year of the Tiger, 4708, in its beautiful new space on Centre St., honoring the animal that represents courage and bravery. Tonight, Brooklyn-based Chinese Taiwanese American spoken-word artist Kelly Tsai will host an open-mic event dedicated to Valentine’s Day and the Lunar New Year, both of which occur on Sunday, two holidays bathed in beautiful red colors. For the next two Saturdays, MOCA is holding walking tours entitled “Prepare for the New Year in Chinatown.” The Lunar New Year Flower Festival takes place in Sara D. Roosevelt Park on February 12-13, featuring a bevy of cultural programs and traditional festivities, while on Sunday the annual New Year’s Day Firecracker Ceremony and Festival will light off an estimated 600,000 rounds in the park. On February 18, as part of the Free Fridays program at MOCA, the museum will be screening CHINESE ODYSSEY 2002 (Jeffrey Lau, 2002) at 6:30. If you’ve never been to Chinatown in Flushing, the fourteenth annual Lunar New Year Parade and Festival offers an excellent opportunity to check out that growing neighborhood, February 21 beginning at 11:00 am. And the weeklong partying comes to a close that same day with the eleventh annual Lunar New Year Parade and Festival starting in Little Italy at 11:30 am, with Lion Dancers going in and out of local stores and restaurants to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year. Be sure to stop off for some dumplings, moon cakes, and other festive food, even if you’re not exactly sure what it is. Gung Hey Fat Choy!