[Image courtesy USC Pacific Asia Museum]
The rescheduled festival will honor the Year of the Rabbit with traditional dances, musical performances, martial arts demonstrations, and much more.
Originally scheduled for Jan. 22, the museum made the difficult decision to cancel their Lunar New Year Festival in the aftermath of the Monterey Park shooting.
Now, the Pacific Asia Museum will welcome the community back to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit with the same pomp and grandeur that was planned for the original event.
The festival is free and open to the public.
The Lunar New Year Festival is a vibrant celebration that marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year, a time for new beginnings, family reunions, and spiritual cleansing. To mark the occasion, the museum has planned an array of cultural performances.
The celebration starts on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. with artmaking activities with Barnsdall Arts and Calligraphy, which goes on through the afternoon.
A performance set from 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. includes the highly anticipated Lion Dance, a Martial Arts Demonstration and storytime with acclaimed storyteller Barbara Wong.
USC’s Taiko ensemble Kazan Taiko will wrap up the festivities at 3:00 p.m.
“We are thrilled to be back in person this year to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. First-time attendees can expect to see several performances of East Asian music and dance, participate in artmaking activities with our partners from Barnsdall Arts, and enjoy yummy food trucks,” USC Director of Communications and Marketing, Nathalia Morales-Evanks told Pasadena Now in January, prior to the canceled event.
“This event is fun for the whole family and is sure to bring a smile to your face.”
Morales-Evanks said the Lunar New Year celebration is a tradition that has been observed in East and Southeast Asian communities for thousands of years with origins steeped in Chinese legends. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon.
“There are many customs associated with the holiday, including cleaning the home, honoring ancestors, and giving red envelopes with small amounts of money to children and family members,” she explained.
“Friends and family gather to share delicious food and communities often celebrate with elaborate festivals, which almost always include a lion dance. In recent years, Lunar New Year has become a significant celebration across a large part of the globe.”
Through the pandemic, USC PAM hosted virtual Lunar New Year events that were streamed online throughout the day and recorded.
“Our Lunar New Year Festival is an annual event that we have hosted for the community for over a decade. Each year we bring unique traditional dance and musical performances to the museum stage by artists both local and international. We have art activities for the whole family,” Morales-Evansk said.
Again, the celebration is open to the public and completely free.
For more information, visit https://calendar.usc.edu/event/lunar_new_yearpam_general_admission?utm_campaign=widget&utm_medium=widget&utm_source=USC+Event+Calendar#.Y-_uFuxBzVq
To view recordings of past virtual celebrations, visit https://pacificasiamuseum.usc.edu/2021/02/11/virtual-lunar-new-year-2021/.
