Peabody Essex Museum To Host Year Of The Horse Festival

SALEM, MA — The Peabody Essex Museum will host a festival next week in celebration of Lunar New Year 2026: Year of the Horse.

On Feb. 21, a Year of the Horse festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with dance performances and meet-and-greet, scavenger hunt, art-making and self-guided tours.

Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. While some traditions are shared across countries, others are unique to one region, community, or national cultural identity.

PEM's programming this year focuses on Chinese cultural traditions.

Gunk Kwok will host a dance performance from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with the Asian Women's Lion and Dragon Dance Troupe. The performance will be in the main atrium with limited tickets available.

Zodiac Quest and art making will be available to morning ticket-holders beginning at 11:30 a.m., with the museum open for general admission from 1 to 5 p.m.

There will be a drop-in art making class with Vanessa Platacis from 1 to 4 p.m. on the ground level. Those attending should bring their own red envelopes. This event is suitable for all ages.

A Zodiac Quest scavenger hunt will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. for all ages on all three levels of the museum.

A meet and greet with Gund Kwok will be held from 2 to 3 p.m. at the ground level, where attendees can get an up-close look at the lion and dragon dance costumes and meet members of the troupe.

Self-guided tours will be held every 30 minutes from 12:15 to 4:15 p.m. with reservations required and same-day tickets available at the information desk on a first-come, first-served basis.

For tickets, visit here.