#InTheLoop | A Guide to Lunar New Year Events in Queens – QEDC

#InTheLoop | A Guide to Lunar New Year Events in Queens

BY QEDC It's In Queens

On Jan. 22, the Year of the Rabbit begins for those who follow the Lunar calendar. In general, this means luck, creativity, compassion, and sensitivity. In Queens, it means lions, dragons, colorful costumes, red envelopes, Kung Fu, parades, and countless other activities.

A chronological list of local Lunar New Year fun follows. Please note that various scheduled events have already happened as the parties have already started in Queens. (They last for more than a month, too.)

Jan. 20, LIC Lunar New Year, Feb. 19. Long Island City Partnership welcomes residents, workers, and visitors to experience Lunar New Year across the neighborhood via organized food, drink, cultural, interactions, and other activities. Look out for lucky red envelope promotions offered by select participating businesses.

Jan. 20, Oriental Operatic Artists Association, 4 pm. The Oriental Operatic Artists Association offers dance, singing, folk music, and Chinese operatic performance. Flushing Branch Library, 41-17 Main St.

Jan. 21. Lunar New Year with Asian In NY, 1 pm. Celebrate the Year of Rabbit with a Lion dance, Chinese dances, K-Pop, live DJ music, crafts, storytelling, and a fashion show. Queens Center, 90-15 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst.

Jan. 21, Culture Lab Fest, 4 pm. Seven hours of traditional Chinese music, snacks and games with MaeMae Dance Studio, RuDanceNY, Andy Lin, Sunshine Dance NYC, and Wei Sun. Culture Lab LIC at the Plaxall Gallery, 5-25 46th Ave.

Jan. 21, Thump Thump, 3 pm. A rabbit-coloring workshop with artist and curator Stephanie Lee. The event is inspired by 19th-century Korean folk art depicting rabbits making medicine under a cinnamon tree on a full moon. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.

Jan. 21, Paper Lanterns Workshop, 2:30 pm. Celebrate Lunar New Year by creating lanterns that light up in the dark. Lewis Latimer House Museum, 34-41 137th St., Flushing.

Jan. 21, This Is Home, Feb. 26. Featuring NYC-based photographers Janice Chung, Cindy Trinh, and An Rong Xu, this Lunar New Year exhibition tells a visual story of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.

Jan. 21, Indoor Lunar New Year Parade, 11 am. The public is invited to celebrate in a warm environment before the outdoor parade kicks off on 37th Avenue. Tangram, 133-33 39th Ave., Flushing.

Jan. 22, LNY Celebration, 2 pm. An afternoon of cultural performances, lion dancing, a wish tree, immersive photobooth, pastry tastings, and prizes. The Shops at Skyview, 40-24 College Point Blvd., Flushing.

Jan. 23, Glove Puppetry, 3:30 pm. Chinese Theatre Works presents an original “budaixi” (traditional glove-puppet) production featuring a rabbit, skits, dances, popular songs, and well-known Chinese sayings celebrating the wit and wisdom of the Zodiac animals. Pomonok Branch Library, 158-21 Jewel Ave.

Jan. 26, Tet Nguyen Dan (Vietnamese Lunar New Year), 2:30 pm. Queens Public Library presents a virtual celebration with customs, traditions, candied lotus seeds, and pork belly braised water coconut water and eggs.

Jan. 29, LNY at QM, 1 pm. The New York Chinese Cultural Center returns for folk and lion dance, Kung Fu demonstrations, and hands-on activities for all ages, from calligraphy to puppets to lanterns. Queens Museum, NYC Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Jan. 29, Hao Bang-ah, Rabbit!, 1 pm + 3 pm. This original budaixi (glove-puppet) production features the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. This year’s production stars the Rabbit, who will preside over wild puppet skits, dances, popular songs, and well-known Chinese sayings celebrating the wit and wisdom of the Zodiac animals. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.

Feb. 2, The Dragon King, 10 am + 11:30 am. The Tanglewood Marionettes troupe offers an underwater puppet fantasy based on Chinese folklore. A drought has turned the world brown and lifeless, and people wonder why the Dragon King, who rules the waters, has not brought rain. An intrepid grandmother journeys to the bottom of the sea to talk to the monarch. Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd.

Feb. 5, Nai-Ni Chen Celebrates the Year of the Water Rabbit, 3 pm. The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company presents majestic dragons, elegant peacocks, stunning acrobats, twirling ribbons, bamboo instruments, and a Hip-Hop lion dance. Colden Auditorium, 153-49 Reeves Ave., Flushing.

Feb. 11, The Monkey King: A Kung-Fu Musical, Feb. 12. Based on a 16th-century Chinese novel, this inspiring story follows the first-ever female Monkey King as she battles Heaven and Earth’s most treacherous foes to save her tribe and achieve immortality. Shows are at 3 pm both days. Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park.