Update: Our 2024 Lunar New Year guide can be found here 🐉
Get ready for more confetti and celebrations—the Lunar New Year is coming!
This year, the Lunar New Year falls on Sunday, January 22nd, and 2023's Year of the Rabbit festivities are spread out across New York City in the weeks leading up to and following Lunar New Year’s Day.
A big part of the holiday—which can last for days or even weeks in China, Korea and Vietnam—involves eating delicious food that symbolizes good fortune, good luck and family. Which makes it a wonderful opportunity to visit Chinatown in Manhattan, Sunset Park in Brooklyn and Flushing in Queens, all just a subway or bus ride away!
MTA Away is partnering with the James Beard Foundation and NYC & Company, the city’s tourism agency, to help you with your Lunar New Year’s plans. The James Beard Foundation’s 2022 Humanitarian of the Year, Grace Young, was honored for her work to support Chinatowns during the pandemic, and she notes, “Chinatowns and independently-owned businesses need us to dine in, order takeout, and shop in markets, bakeries, and stores, regularly, if they are to survive."
EVENTS
Sunday Art: Lunar New Year Celebration at the Brooklyn Museum, on Sunday, January 15, in the Beaux-Arts Court. Create art and see a lion dance, 2-4 p.m., 200 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn.
Lunar New Year at the WTC Oculus will see the Oculus illuminated in red and gold on January 20-23 at 4-11:30 p.m, 50 Church Street in Manhattan.
Flushing’s Lunar New Year Parade on Saturday, January 21, at 11 a.m., with the parade route around 37th Avenue, Union Street and 39th Avenue, Sanford Avenue, Main Street, 39th Avenue, and Queens Crossing in Queens.
Lunar New Year Family Festival at the Museum of Chinese in America on Saturday, January 21, with activities—including a lion dance, noodle making demonstration and more—between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., 215 Centre Street, Manhattan.
Lunar New Year at the Seaport on Saturday, January 21, with a lion dance outside the Tin Building at 12:30 p.m. and calligraphy workshops at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., and 3 p.m., at Pier 17, 89 South Street in Manhattan.
Celebrate Lunar New Year at Hudson Yards on Saturday, January 21 (and also January 28 and February 4) will feature lion dances and ribbon twirling performances from The New York Chinese Cultural Center at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m., in the Great Room on the first floor (across from Dior) at 20 Hudson Yards in Manhattan.
Chinatown Firecracker Ceremony and Festival on Sunday, January 22, in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (firecrackers will scare away ghosts), near Grand Street in Manhattan.
Miffy Presents Lunar New Year at the Queens Botanical Garden on Saturday, January 28, with lion dance performances, zodiac crafts, demonstrations, storytime, lucky plant sale, and more, 12-4 p.m., 43-50 Main Street in Flushing, Queens.
Celebrate Lunar New Year at the Brooklyn Children's Museum on Saturday, January 28, at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, with storytelling, live music, calligraphy workshops, kung fu lessons, and a rooftop lion dance parade, starting at 10 a.m., 145 Brooklyn Avenue in Brooklyn.
Lunar New Year at the WTC Oculus on Saturday, January 28, will have lion dance performances from The New York Chinese Cultural Center in the oculus at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m., 50 Church Street, in Manhattan.
Lunar New Year Celebration at the Queens Museum on Sunday, January 29, with ribbon twirling performances, calligraphy workshops, kung fu demonstrations, and crafts workshops, start at 1 p.m., at the New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens.
Lunar New Year Comedy Show on Friday, February 3, 8 p.m. at The Local. Located in Long Island City, The Local will host the best up-and-coming Asian comedians at 8 p.m. on February 3 as part of the Lunar New Year celebration.
Super Saturday Lion Dance Parades on Saturday, February 4, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Lion dancers will visit Chinatown businesses to bring good luck and good fortune, throughout the neighborhood in Manhattan.
MOCA and New York Chinese Cultural Center Celebrate Lunar New Year with Dance and Music on Saturday, February 4, 4-5:30pm. In partnership with the New York Chinese Cultural Center, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) celebrates the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Rabbit with two shows of Chinese dance and music.
Family Open Studio at Noguchi Museum on Saturday, February 4, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Families with children 2-11 can design a tote bag inspired by one of the twelve lunar zodiac animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar at the Long Island City museum.
MOCA FEST: Traditional Chinese Tea Tasting Ceremony with Tea Drunk on Thursday, February 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m. The Museum of Chinese in America and Tea Drunk invite everyone to dive into the world of terroir, cultivar and vintage-specific teas! Tea purveyor Tea Drunk will share tea knowledge to tea newbies to connoisseurs at the Chinatown museum.
Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown on Sunday, February 12 at 11 a.m, with the parade route starting at Mott & Canal to Chatham Square to East Broadway towards the Manhattan Bridge, ending at Eldridge and Forsyth Streets near Grand Street near Sara D. Roosevelt Park, in Manhattan.
FOOD GUIDES FROM NYC & COMPANY
Chinatown, Manhattan: Enjoy a dim sum feast at Golden Unicorn, or check out Hop-Kee, for classics like Lobster Cantonese. There are many stores, but don’t miss Fong On, the “oldest family-run tofu shop” in the city.
Sunset Park, Brooklyn: Roasted pork, chicken, and duck are, naturally, specialties of The Roast, but the shop also has hearty noodle soups. Stock up on delicious Chinese pastries, like don tot (egg tart), bolo bao (“pineapple” bun), and light sponge cakes at Xin Fa Bakery.
Flushing, Queens: Try out Tian Jin Dumpling for a wide variety of dumplings, from the familiar (pork and scallion) to more unexpected (tofu and crab roe; preserved egg and pine nuts). For your sweet tooth, the Flushing Ice Cream Factory has flavors like don tot (egg tart), black sesame and even durian.
Do you have tips for Asian restaurants and stores? You can share them with us by emailing MTAaway@mta.info. And you can also let us know by tagging us on Instagram with @MTAaway.
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