Wing Luke Museum Welcomes Public to Annual Lunar New Year Fair
SEATTLE, January 24, 2024 (Newswire.com) - The Wing Luke Museum announced its Lunar New Year Fair, on Feb. 3, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., commemorating the Year of the Dragon. Members of the community and their families are cordially invited to participate in a host of extravagant New Year festivities, which include community booths, family-friendly activities, story time and a free outdoor lion dance performance by local C-ID group Mak Fai Kung Fu Dragon and Lion Dance Association. This year, the Museum hosts a special Blessing Ceremony in the historic Canton Alley as part of the festivities. More information about the Lunar New Year Fair is available on the event landing page.
Though the lion dance and other performances are free to the public, the Museum also presents a ticketed event inside which includes other enriching cultural activities that include family-friendly crafting, prizes, special presentations, a scavenger hunt, arts sessions, the New Year’s All Year ‘Round: Theater, Dance & Sound exhibit, and more. Members enjoy free entrance. In light of increased anti-Asian hate and the neighborhood’s systemic neglect, Lunar New Year is a wonderful opportunity for community cultural exchange. Early bird registration or ticket purchases can be completed at the ticketing page.
“Our Lunar New Year Fair is an extraordinary event,” says Joël Barraquiel Tan, Wing Luke Museum executive director. “It both celebrates rich Asian culture and inspires greater understanding, acceptance and familiarity by bringing diverse communities together. The current global and social climate, where division runs amok, makes joyful, vibrant events like our Lunar New Year Fair all the more important. We invite all communities to join us.”
This year’s event is sponsored by Lumen Field and the Bellevue Collection. The Wing Luke Museum has hosted a Lunar New Year Fair for the past 15 years. Historically, the Lunar New Year is held as a way to honor ancestors, remove the bad and welcome good fortune. As a major cultural anchor for a wide array of the region’s Asian American communities, Seattle’s Chinatown-International District is an ideal setting for this celebration of unity and cultural tradition.
About Lunar New Year
More than 1.5 billion people celebrate Lunar New Year each year. The Lunar New Year symbolizes the quest for a new life, bringing in luck and prosperity, while ushering out the old.
The holiday marks the first new moon on a calendar used in many Asian countries. Each Lunar New Year corresponds with 12 different animals aligned with the Chinese zodiac. This year is the Year of the Dragon, which symbolizes good luck, strength and health.
The Museum encourages the community to join in on the festivities, patronize local family-owned restaurants and shops, take cultural tours, and visit other local attractions in the C-ID.
About the Wing Luke Museum
The Wing Luke Museum’s mission is to connect everyone to the rich history, dynamic cultures and art of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders through vivid storytelling and inspiring experiences to advance racial and social equity. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, National Park Service Affiliated Area, and the only pan-Asian American museum in the nation, the Wing Luke Museum is a national treasure, preserving and sharing the personal stories of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. www.wingluke.org.
###
Source: Wing Luke Museum