Lunar New Year at Chinatown’s Pao Arts Center

Visit the Pao Arts Center or tune in online to enjoy this popular, family friendly celebration. During the week of Feb. 8-13, visit the center in Chinatown to pick up an activity packet that you can do at home, while watching videos from artists Rayna Lo and Shaina Lu. While there in person, you can also see the current exhibit, Intergenerational Storytelling or see a special exhibit featuring traditional lion heads from Asia by Ken Morin. Don’t forget to snap a selfie at the Lion Dance photo booth designed by Nüwa Athletic Club.

If you choose to enjoy the celebration virtually, you can experience Lion Dance, brush painting demos, and family-friendly crafts by Nüwa Athletic Club, Xiaoyoung Liu, and Lily Xie.

Director of Pao Arts Center Cynthia Woo remarked on what Lunar New Year means to her.

“Now that I have a family and children of my own, Lunar New Year is a time to share some cultural traditions. For my family, this revolves around having chicken and savory stir-fried sticky rice cakes (nian gao) on New Year’s Eve and waking up the next morning and having Chinese New Year Rice Cake (sweet nian gao) pan-fried in egg,” wrote Woo. “Lunar New Year Celebrations at Pao Arts Center focus around activities you can do with friends and family. This year you can sign up to receive videos so you can create, connect, and explore cultural traditions on your own time and in the comfort of your own home. You can also visit the Center to explore our Lion Head exhibit, take a selfie in our photo booth, and take an activity packet home with you!”

The Lunar New Year drop in hours are below:

• Tuesday, February 8, 1:00 – 5:00 pm

• Wednesday, February 9, 1:00 – 5:00 pm

• Thursday, February 10, 1:00 – 7:00 pm

• Friday, February 11, 1:00 – 5:00 pm

• Saturday, February 12, 1:00 – 5:00 pm

• Sunday February 13, 12:00 – 2:00 pm

Find more information here.