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 Rat 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 Rat, one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, with performances, interactive gallery activities, and artist-led workshops for all ages.
Alan Muraoka and Sesame Street Muppeteers Jen Barnhart and Kathy Kim will share traditions of the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Rat at The Met’s Annual Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday, February 1st in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium from 11:10–11:40 am, 12–12:30 pm. Photo ops will take place in Gallery 131 of The Temple of Dendur from 12:45-1:30 pm.
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior at event location.
Lunar New Year Festival: Year of the Rat
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
PERFORMANCES
Opening Performance
Lunar New Year Parade
11–11:30 am
Ring in a new prosperous New Year with the Chinese Center on Long Island Lion Troupe.
Floor 1, Great Hall
Sesame Street Puppeteers Featuring Alan Muraoka
11:10–11:40 am, 12–12:30 pm
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior at event location.
Discover the traditions of Lunar New Year with Sesame Street puppeteers.
Floor 1, Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Photo Op with Sesame Street Muppeteers
12:45–1:30 pm
Snap a pic and meets some friendly Sesame Street characters.
Floor 1, Temple of Dendur, Gallery 131
Lunar New Year Performances
1:30–2:15 pm, 2:45–3:30 pm, 4–4:45 pm
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior at event location.
Be entertained by the Chinese Center on Long Island Lion Troupe, New York Chinese Cultural Center dancers, and drummers from New York Korean Performing Arts Center.
Floor 1, Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Integrating Identity with Vincent Chong
12–12:15 pm, 1–1:15 pm, 2–2:15 pm, 3–3:15 pm, 4–4:15 pm
Flutter a festive fan as Vincent Chong, a queer mixed-race Chinese American artist, writes in gold calligraphy while soaring in heels.
Floor 2, Asian Art, Chinese Courtyard in the Style of the Ming Dynasty, Gallery 217
ART ACTIVITIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS
Zodiac Zones
11 am–5 pm
Discover more about your sign. Proudly wear your zodiac animal buttons to meet others who share the same characteristics.
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall, Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education
Fierce Dragon Creations
11 am–5 pm
Ring in the New Year with a movable dragon toy that brings a bit of good luck. Dragons are believed to possess great power, dignity, fertility, and wisdom.
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education
Festive Feast with Emily Mock
11 am–5 pm
Have you shared your abundance with others this year? Add to the communal paper feast installation for the kitchen god, Zao Jun, and his wife, Guo.
Ground floor, Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education
Luminous Lanterns with China Institute
11 am–5 pm
Light up the sky with a tissue paper lantern and LED candle. Add phrases of good fortune to your creation.
Ground floor, Carroll Classroom, Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education
Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony & Bubble Tea Gatherings (Best for ages 6 and up)
12–3:30 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 1pm and 3pm.
Ground floor, Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education
Hand-Pulled Noodle Demonstration
12:30–1 pm, 1:30–2 pm, 2:30–3 pm, 3:30–4 pm
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior at event location.
The longer the noodles, the longer and happier the life!
Ground floor, Studio, Uris Center for Education
Celestial Drawing Station
11 am–5 pm
Explore and sketch animals depicted in the lunar zodiac across cultures.
Floor 1, Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Gallery 350
Creative Calligraphy
11 am–5 pm
Express yourself with Chinese calligraphy through guided brush work with a teaching artist.
Ground floor, Carroll Classroom, Carson Family Hall, Uris Center for Education
Daring Disguise
11 am–5 pm
Become a cunning rat with a fuzzy ear headband and whimsical whiskers.
Floor 2, Asian Art, Chinese Courtyard in the Style of the Ming Dynasty, Gallery 206
Den-den Daiko Drum Making
11 am–5 pm
Move to the beat of your own drum! Design a pellet drum like those used across Asia, including Japan, China, Tibet, Mongolia, India, Taiwan and Korea.
Floor 2, Asian Art, The Astor Forecourt, Gallery 209
Metal Mouse Masterpieces with The Rubin Museum of Art
11 am–5 pm
Get inspired by Himalayan sculptures and the astrological element of metal than emboss your own mousy plaque.
Floor 2, Asian Art, The Astor Forecourt, Gallery 209
Hero Rats with Lydia DesRoche
11:30 am–12 pm, 12:30–1 pm, 1:30–2 pm, 2:30–3 pm, 3:30–4 pm, 4:30–5 pm
Tickets distributed 15 minutes prior at event location.
Rats are actors, painters, and heroes! Meet animal trainer, Lydia DesRoche, and her furry friends to learn fun facts about working rats.
Ground floor, North Classroom, Uris Center for Education
STORYTELLING AND QUIET SPACES
Tot Spot (Best for ages 0-5)
11 am–5 pm
Play and learn with books, blocks, and more just for early learners.
Ground floor, Nolen Library, Uris Center for Education
Bilingual Storytime with China Institute in English and Mandarin (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
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, Japanese Art, Gallery 229
Lunar New Year Festival: Year of the Rat is made possible in part by the E.H.A. Foundation and Tiger Baron Foundation.
It is presented by the Museum’s Advisory Committee on Cultural Engagement and the Education Department.
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 has appeared in the filmsWolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman. She stars in and served as Executive Producer for the short independent films Hide and Seek, Balancing Act, Rom-Com Gone Wrong, Belongingness and When the World was Young. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
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