Chinatown Lunar New Year Firecracker Ceremony
Wednesday, February 9, 11:00AM – 5:00PM
A traditional Lunar New Year practice believed to scare away evil spirits. After opening ceremonies, a dozen dance troupes of lions, dragons and unicorns march down the main streets of Chinatown (Mott, Bowery, East Broadway, Bayard, Elizabeth, Pell) to ring in the New Year. Firecracker detonations take place at Mott St. and Bayard St. at 12:00PM and at Market St. and East Broadway at 2:00PM. Stages at both intersections feature performances by traditional and contemporary Asian and Asian American singers and dancers.
Firecrackers at 12:00PM at the intersection of Mott St. & Bayard St.
Firecrackers at 2:00PM at the intersection of Market St. & E. Broadway
Visit www.ExploreChinatown.com for more information.

Flushing , Queens Lunar New Year Parade and Festival
Saturday, February 12, starting at 10:00AM
The day begins with a parade—including dragon dancers, steel drums and fireworks—and finishes with live music performances held outside Flushing Town Hall. The parade begins on Union St at 37th Avenue, Flushing, heads south on Union, right on Sanford, right on Main, and left on Roosevelt, left on Prince, right on 39th Avenue, where the parade splits. Chinese performers head to Flushing Mall while the Korean contingent goes to Flushing High School.

20th Annual Lunar New Year Festival of Chinese Dance, Music & Peking Opera
Saturday, February 12, at 2:00PM and 7:30PM
Sunday, February 13 at 2:00PM
Presented by the New York Chinese Cultural Center, www.chinesedance.org, and the Chinese Folk Dance Company.
Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, 566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South) in Greenwich Village. Call the Skirball box office for tickets at 212-992-8484.

Great Music for a Great City presents: Chinese New Year Concert: A Journey to Yeh Yeh's House
Saturday, February 12 at 8PM
The CUNY Graduate Center's Great Music for a Great City Chinese New Year concert, "Journey to Yeh Yeh's House" features the remarkable 10-year-old Chinese American violinist, Sirena Huang; author of Yeh Yeh's House (A memoir of a young woman's struggle to make sense of her identity as a Chinese born in America), Evilina Chao, who will be playing viola, plus her mother Vera Lin Chow on recorder; Cindy Hsu (CBS news) and Elli Wallach narrating/reading from the book; along with a full program of both Chinese and Western classical music.
CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Ave (34th Street)
Free ($15 donation guarantees seat - 212-817-8215)

6th Annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade & Festival
Sunday, February 13, 1:00PM
The parade features floats, marching bands, lion and dragon dancers, as well as Asian musical performers, magicians and acrobats. It is the largest Pan-Asian event on the East Coast and includes performers from China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. More than 5,000 people will march in the parade and more than 200,000 spectators are expected to attend the parade. After the parade, at 3:00PM, an outdoor cultural festival takes place on Bayard Street, featuring performances by musicians, dancers and martial artists.
More information about the event can be found on www. ExploreChinatown.com
For a map of the parade route, click here

Peking Opera In New York – The Monkey King Attacks White Bone
Saturday, February 19, 8:00PM and Sunday, February 20, 2:00PM
The Monkey King, Sun Wukong, is one of the most popular opera characters in China. Buddhist monk San Zang, known as Tang Seng, and his three acolytes, monkey spirit Sun Wukong, pig spirit Zhu Bajie, and river spirit Sha Seng who are on a pilgrimage to the Western Paradise to obtain scriptures from the Buddha. Along the way, they are faced with ten thousand trails to prove their worthiness.
www.pekingoperanyc.com
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center

Lunar New Year Feasts
Ongoing through Sunday, February 27
During Lunar New Year, many Asian cultures place special emphasis on the symbolism of different foods. Specific foods represent wealth, good health, longevity, togetherness and completeness. Restaurants throughout Chinatown serve special feasts that bring good fortune.
For a list participating restaurants, visit www. ExploreChinatown.com

Museum of Chinese in the Americas
Tuesdays through Sundays, noon to 6PM; Fridays, noon to 7PM
70 Mulberry Street
"Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America Exhibit, an exhibition of Chinese menus, travel diaries and other items; "Mapping Our Heritage Project," in interactive display on the history of Chinatown; "Yellow Pear," a compilation of artwork, stories and songs by the Basement Workshop, an organization of Lower East Side artists and activists; and "Many True Stories: Life in Chinatown on andAfter Sept. 11," a collection of oral histories.
Admission Information: 212-619-4785
www.moca-nyc.org

WNYC Programming:

Next Big Thing
February 4, 2005
Year of the Rooster
We talk to Gail Damerov, Tennessee-based author of numerous chicken books about what we can expect from this next year. Produced by Julie Subrin.

Soundcheck
February 7, 2005
Year of the Rooster in Story and Song
Celebrating the Lunar New Year in story and song, we'll speak with two musicians devoted to preserving the traditional music of their native Tibet...and celebrating the New Year in Vietnam.

Evening Music with David Garland
February 9, 2005
Chinese New Year
It’s the Chinese New Year; so we celebrate with many works from Chinese composers and performers, starting with the traditional “Little Path” from Suiyuan, sung by Ying Huang.