Chinese New Year Celebration @ Pelham Art Center

In collaboration with the
Junior League of Pelham, Chinese New Year returns to Pelham Art Center on
Saturday, January 25, 2014 with family-friendly activities commemorating the
beginning of the Year of the Horse! From
10am to 12pm, paper-craft workshops will be held in which participants can
create a Chinese lantern or a traditional banner decorated with calligraphy. At 11:15am, members of Kwan’s Kung Fu,
from Peekskill, NY, will perform a traditional Lion Dance, believed in Chinese
culture to scare away evil spirits and to bring good luck. As part of our Folk
Arts Series, this event is free and open
to all ages.  Please RSVP at 914 738
2525 x111.

The
Lion Dance program includes an educational and historical introduction of the
dance, an interactive performance, followed by a question and answer period. During
the performance the lion makes its way around the room interacting with the
crowd. Children can feed red envelopes filled with whatever they like to the
lion if they wish to bring good luck in the new year. Children will be
encouraged to parade with their newly made lanterns when the lion makes its way
outdoors.

About
Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a traditional Chinese holiday
that starts with the new moon on the first day of the lunar new year and ends
on the full moon fifteen days later. Each year is named for one of twelve symbolic animals: rat, ox,
tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, ram, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar. January
31, 2014, marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse, ending February 18, 2015.
The Horse is the seventh sign in the Chinese Zodiac cycle. Those born in the
Year of the Horse are said to be energetic, bright, warm-hearted,
intelligent and able.