The Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting its annual Lunar New Year festival on Saturday, February 9, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lunar New Year Festival: Year of the Pig will feature dozens of programs—for visitors of all ages—that reflect traditions from across Asia. Dance and music performances, artist-led workshops, and interactive gallery activities will take place throughout The Met Fifth Avenue as part of the festival celebration. All Lunar New Year Festival programming is free with Museum admission. The Met Fifth Avenue is located at 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street in New York.
May art bring you good fortune! Mark the Year of the Pig, one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, with performances, interactive gallery activities, and artist-led workshops for all ages.
Performances
Space is limited; first come, first served.
Lunar New Year Parade
11–11:30 am
Ring in a prosperous New Year with the Chinese Center on Long Island Lion Troupe.
Floor 1, Great Hall
Alan Muraoka and Sesame Street Muppeteers Pam Arciero and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph
11:30 am–12 pm
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior at event location.
Discover the traditions of Lunar New Year with Sesame Street puppeteers.
Floor 1, The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Photo Op with Sesame Street Muppeteers
12:30–1:30 pm
Snap a pic and meet some friendly Sesame Street characters.
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall East, Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education
Lunar New Year Performances
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior to each session at event location.
1–1:45 pm, 2:30–3:15 pm, 4–4:45 pm
Be entertained by the Chinese Center on Long Island Lion Troupe, New York Chinese Cultural Center dancers, drummers from New York Korean Performing Arts Center, and Chinese yo-yo tricks from the Valley Stream South High School Cultural Society.
Floor 1, The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Art Activities and Demonstrations
Meet artists and make art together inspired by The Met collection! Unless otherwise noted, activities are best for ages 3 and up.
Hands-on opportunities available.
Zodiac Zone
Discover more about your sign. Proudly wear your zodiac animal sticker to meet others who share the same characteristics.
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall West, Uris Center for Education
Golden Piggy Bank
Create a year of good fortune! Design your own boarish bank.
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall West, Uris Center for Education
Wishful Fish with the Museum of Chinese in America
Fish symbolize abundance in the New Year. Using traditional Chinese paper cuts as inspiration, fold and cut a moveable paper fish to usher in a year of plenty.
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall West, Uris Center for Education
When Pigs Fly Scrolls
Put your imagination to the test to create your own scroll story inspired by flying pigs using sumi ink.
Ground floor, Carroll Classroom, Uris Center for Education
Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony & Bubble Tea Gatherings (Best for ages 6 and up)
12–3 pm
Cheer the New Year with freshly made bubble tea from Ten Ren Tea and Ginseng Co., then join a demonstration by tea masters at 1 pm and 3 pm.
Ground floor, Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education
Hand-Pulled Noodle Demonstration with Chef Zhang
1:30–2 pm, 2:30–3 pm, 3:30–4 pm
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior to each session at event location.
The longer the noodles, the longer and happier the life!
Ground floor, Studio, Uris Center for Education
Mud Play!
Stimulate your senses by contributing to our textured mud painting, inspired by the Buddha of Medicine Bhaishajyaguru mural in Gallery 206, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
Ground floor, North Classroom, Uris Center for Education
Celestial Drawing Stations
11:30 am–4:30 pm
Explore and sketch animals depicted in the lunar zodiac across cultures.
Floor 1, Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Gallery 350
Hide and Seek with The Sheep’s Meow
11 am–5 pm
Blend into your surroundings with EXPOSURE by game designers GJ Lee and Brian S. Chung. Create your own digital camouflage to hide from predators.
Floor 1, The American Wing, The Charles Engelhard Court, Gallery 700
Korean Paper Doll Making
Dress your own paper doll pig in the finest hanbok, Korean traditional clothing, to celebrate the New Year with the Korea Society.
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 209, The Astor Forecourt
Ring in the New Year: Jewelry Making
Start your New Year with a bit of luck. Design jewelry inspired by Chinese fortune coins.
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 209, The Astor Forecourt
Collaborative Village
Around the world, families return home to celebrate the New Year. Design your own magical home to add to our growing village.
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 217, The Astor Court
Storytelling and Quiet Spaces
Piglet’s Play Pen (Best for ages 0–5)
Play and learn with books, blocks, and more just for early learners.
Ground floor, Nolen Library, Uris Center for Education
Bilingual Storytime (Best for ages 3 and up)
1–1:30 pm, 2–2:30 pm
Enjoy quiet time with stories in English and Mandarin.
Ground floor, Nolen Library, Uris Center for Education
Kamishibai Storytelling with CMOM
1–1:20 pm, 1:30–1:50 pm, 2–2:20 pm, 2:30–2:50 pm
Join Children’s Museum of Manhattan educators for an interactive form of Japanese storytelling that mixes traditional and modern kawaii-inspired stories.
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 206, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Quiet Spaces
11:30 am–4:30 pm
Stop by these quiet spaces for time with art and books.
Floor 1, Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Gallery 353
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 238, South Asian Hindu-Buddhist and Jain Sculpture
For Adults
Collection Chats with New New Yorkers
(Best for ages 13 and up)
Join recent immigrants in exploring great works of Asian art. In Partnership with the Queens Library and The New New Yorkers Program at the Queens Museum.
Daoist Immortals with Chuankui Jiang
1–1:20 pm, 1:30–1:50 pm in English
2–2:20 pm in Mandarin
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 222, Chinese Decorative Arts
Chinese Jade with Tsae Jiaug Su
1–1:20 pm, 1:30–1:50 pm in English
2–2:20 pm in Mandarin
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 207, The Charlotte C. Weber Galleries
Chinese Painting with Olivia (ChiMing) Hsieh
2:30–2:50 pm, 3–3:20 pm in English
3:30–3:50 pm in Mandarin
Floor 2, Asian Art, Gallery 210
Wu Na + Chang Jing: Sound and View
12–12:45 pm, 2–2:45 pm
Hailing from China, master musicians Wu Na and Chang Jing elicit the sounds of nature—mountains, water, wind, and moon—from traditional Chinese zithers. Celebrate the Lunar New Year with the feeling of sonic scenery.
Ground floor, Robert Lehman Wing, Gallery 963
ETHEL and Friends: Erhu-Cello Duo
5–5:30 pm, 6–6:30 pm, 7–7:30 pm
Go on a musical journey with acclaimed string quartet ETHEL.
Floor 2, Great Hall Balcony, Gallery 204
This event is made possible in part by the Tiger Baron Foundation.
More about the event and directions to programming throughout the Museum will be available at the information desk inside the main entrance at Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street and in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education, located near the ground-floor entrance at Fifth Avenue and 81st Street. All Lunar New Year Festival programs are free with Museum admission. Recommended Museum admission is $25 for adults, $17 for seniors (65 and over), and $12 for students. Children under 12 who are accompanied by an adult are free.
A full list of festival programming, along with further details and a schedule of events, is available on The Met website.
Lunar New Year Festival: Year of the Rooster will also be featured on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the hashtag #MetFest.
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2019 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang 