Lunar New Year is right around the corner and will take place on Wednesday, January 29. The spring festival will celebrate the beginning of a new year according to the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar, marking the start of the Year of the Snake. Celebrations usually include feasting and traditions that symbolize prosperity and abundance.
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Thanks to its thriving East Asian population, New York City will host an abundance of ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Think lion dances, parades, firecrackers and, of course, delicious food. We’ve rounded up the best ways to honor the occasion, whether you’re craving an elevated celebratory meal or a parade full of dancing dragons and stunning clothing.
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4350 Main St. / 718.886.3800 / Website
The Queens Botanical Garden is hosting a family-friendly community celebration on Saturday, February 8, featuring a lion dance, cultural performances, arts and crafts and a vendors fair. Food and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) will be available. Each year, the botanical gardens host wonderful Lunar New Year celebrations, and we expect this year to be no different.
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On February 15, Flushing Town Hall will host a Chinese Theatre Works presentation of Hao Bang Ah! Snake! The show will feature Chinese budaixi hand puppets performing a selection of wild skits, dances and songs that celebrate the zodiac animals.
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On February 16 at 1PM, the 27th annual Lunar New Year Parade & Festival will take place along the following route: Mott & Canal to Chatham Square to East Broadway towards the Manhattan Bridge, completing on Eldridge and Forsyth Streets towards Grand Street next to Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Expect to find stunningly elaborate outfits, beautiful dragon dancing, martial arts performances and more.
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The whole family is welcome to celebrate at the Museum of Chinese in America’s festival on February 17 from 2 to 5 p.m. Tickets are $5 per person, and kids under 2 are free. Tickets are available now, so don't walk, run!
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1000 Fifth Ave. / 212.535.7710 / Website
On January 25, The Met will host performances, interactive activities and artist-led workshops for all ages as part of its Lunar New Year celebrations. Admission is pay what you wish for all New Yorkers and students from Connecticut and New Jersey.
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Wu Tsai Theater, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, 212.875.5656 / Website
On February 11, the New York Philharmonic's Lunar New Year celebration will include a Chinese folk dance suite and excellent musical selections. Be sure to attend the Lunar New Year Gala for a cocktail reception and elegant dinner honoring Angela Chen.
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Chelsea Market’s annual Lunar New Year celebration on February 9 promises to be as delicious as ever, with the market hosting a food-filled celebration each year. Expect to find live performances, food and beverages, cultural activities and the chance to play mahjong.
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Long touted as the best soup dumplings in New York, Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao has Flushing, Koreatown and East Village locations. Each serves the restaurant’s world-famous favorites, such as the iconic crab and pork soup dumplings and the crispy pan-fried pork buns, steamed buns, Shanghainese dim sum, fried noodles, fried rice cakes, scallion pancakes and steamed chicken soup. The interiors are inspired by traditional decoration elements from Nan Xiang, a thousand-year-old mountainside town in Shanghai, making this the perfect spot for a Lunar New Year celebration.
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Combining both traditional Chinese dance with modern flair, the company will embrace the spirit of the snake. There will be performances at 2 p.m. on February 1 and February 2.
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Sara D. Roosevelt Park will be cleansed of any unfriendly ghosts on January 29 with the lighting of hundreds of thousands of firecrackers. Expect to also find lion dances and decorations giveaways, food booths and craft vendors.
A time as exciting as the Year of the Snake deserves a celebration, so whether you choose to enjoy a good meal, attend a parade or just spend time with family and friends, we wish you a very happy Lunar New Year!
Photography by: wellsie82 / Getty Images
