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FUN FOR ALL AGES: Calvin Kung and his young son, Connor, enjoyed the festivities.
Photo by Trey Pentecost
Moon moment
Bklynites ring in Lunar New Year
BY JULIANNE MCSHANE
They pigged out!
Brooklynites got an early start on
their Lunar New Year celebrations on
Feb. 2 during a festive event hosted by
bigwigs at a Sunset Park shopping center.
The bash entertained attendees of
all ages by showcasing classic customs
used to ring in the Chinese New Year,
which offi cially began on Feb. 5, according
to a spectator.
“My son is really into Chinese
drums, so we wanted to show him
a good performance,” Bay Ridgite
Tom Liddy said of his 2-year-old son
Tommy.
The fi rst day of the Lunar New Year
traditionally kicks off a 15-day festival
featuring feasts, fi recrackers, and family
time following the fi rst new moon
of the year. And each year in Chinese
culture honors a different animal in
the Zodiac calendar, with Tuesday beginning
of the Year of the Pig, an animal
that represents wealth and treasure
in the Chinese tradition.
The pre-new year festivities at Beyond
at Liberty View Industrial Plaza
included a cooking demonstration
by James Beard award-winning author
Grace Young, who showed locals
how to prepare her stir-fry noodles
with chicken and ginger mushrooms,
as well as musical and dance performances.
Members of the local Wan Chi Ming
Dragon Dance Team led a parade featuring
marchers in colorful dragon
costumes through the Third Avenue
shopping center between 30th and 31st
streets. And a lion dance, which tradition
claims brings good fortune and
wards off evil, capped off the day’s
events.
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Brooklyn’s Premier Entertainment Guide
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