Pao Arts Center Celebrates Lunar New Year

“I am so grateful Pao Arts Center exists and allows for generations of Bostonians to connect more deeply and joyfully with their culture.” Lunar New Year Celebration Guest

Photo credit: Mike Mejia

On Sunday, February 18, 850 people visited Pao Arts Center to celebrate Lunar New Year to welcome the Year of the Dragon. Visitors came from the Greater Boston area and across New England to join the festivities. Participants enjoyed many cultural performances and demonstrations in our theatre and drop-in crafts throughout our classroom and gallery space.

The celebration kicked off at 11:00 AM with a festive lion-dance performance by Nüwa Athletic Club. Children and their families eagerly lined up near the entrance to await the arrival of the lions. Once the lions arrived, they received traditional offerings of oranges and cabbages and in turn, blessed the center with a year of good luck and prosperity.

Mayor Michelle Wu and her family joined us at the event and helped welcome in the new year as well as support our work.

The lion-dance performance was followed by a shadow puppet demonstration in the theatre by Yolanda Yuanlu Peng, a designer and visual artist. In between performances, we were honored to be joined by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu who outlined the history of Chinatown and Pao Arts Center’s importance within the community. After the Mayor’s warm welcome, audiences were further captivated by dance performances from our partners, the Tibetan Association of Boston and the Korean Cultural Society of Boston. The theater performances were rounded out by an interactive drawing demonstration by visual artist, Bren Bataclan.

Visitors of all ages also enjoyed drop-in activities from Chinese coin bracelet making, dragon puppet-making, and adding new year's wishes to a communal wishing tree. The Korean Cultural Society of Boston also led a dasik cookie stamping activity based on a Korean tea cake. Our energetic group of volunteers helped participants make their own creations while leaning more about Lunar New Year traditions.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Lunar New Year celebrations. We hope everyone who came left with a little more knowledge of cultural traditions, good memories, and festive crafts. We cannot wait to see you all again next year!

The day was made possible with the assistance of all our amazing volunteers, partners, and partnering organizations: ArtsEmerson, Bren Bataclan, Korean Cultural Society of Boston, Nüwa Athletic Club, Tibetan Association of Boston, and Yolanda Yuanlu Peng.