More than half a million people are expected to line the streets of Chinatown for Lunar New Year parade (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Sara D. Roosevelt Park and other locations
East Houston St. between Forsythe & Chrystie Sts.
January 31 – February 18
www.betterchinatown.com
2013 lunar new year parade slideshow
The Year of the Horse rides into town this week, and we’re not talking about Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos taking on Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. It’s time to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, beginning January 31 at 11:00 am with the explosive New Year Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival, taking place in and around Chinatown and Sara D. Roosevelt Park, with live music and dance, speeches by politicians, drum groups, lion, dragon, and unicorn dancers making their way through local businesses, and more than half a million rounds of firecrackers warding off evil spirits and welcoming in a prosperous new year. On February 1, the Museum of Chinese in America will give a walking tour, “Preparing for the New Year in Chinatown,” and host its Lunar New Year Family Festival, which includes lion dances and workshops, a Dim Sum Warriors meet and greet, a rattle drum workshop, storytelling, origami and calligraphy demonstrations, arts and crafts, and more. Also on February 1, Asia Society will be celebrating the Year of the Horse with a Family Day presentation including short films, folk songs, Lion Dance and kung-fu demonstrations, and calligraphy, butter sculpture, paper-cutting, and clay-charm workshops. The fifteenth annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival will wind its way through Chinatown, Sara D. Roosevelt Park, and Columbus Park on February 2, Super Bowl Sunday, with cultural booths in the park and a parade with floats, antique cars, special performers, and much more from China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and other nations. The Flushing Lunar New Year Parade is scheduled for February 8 at 11:00. The Horse, the seventh sign of the zodiac, favors strength, energy, multitasking, good health, and careers that involve plenty of interaction with others; this particular year is the Wood Horse, which represents stability and success in personal and professional relationships. People born in the Year of the Horse (1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014) are most compatible with the Dog and the Tiger and least compatible with the Rat and the Monkey. Gōng xǐ fā cái!