Happy New Year! Here Are Ways to Partake

From today through the next two weeks, many Asian and Asian-Americans celebrate the new year.

At one time, Americans only knew it as "Chinese New Year," because some of the earliest celebrations going back nearly to the Gold Rush were by Chinese. But with the Bay Area's markedly changed demographics, the new year according to the lunar calendar can be known in many different ways in many languages.

Whether you call it Seolnal, Tet, Sun Neen, Xin Nian, or just the New Year, the festivities reflect a great celebration for visiting family and friends, big, celebratory meals, new clothes and getting off on the right foot to set the tone for the entire year ahead. 

This year, starting Thursday, brings many festive weekend events, as different groups jockey for space and time. If you are up for a cultural day trip, there are many choices:

Feb. 2-4:

Chinese American cellist Yo-Yo Ma in Celebrity Forum at Flint Center in Cupertino:

Chinese American cellist 's lectures Feb. 2 through 4. 

The lectures are part of the "Celebrity Forum" series, which requires the purchase of series tickets, not individual tickets for a particular lecture of the series. Ma may play two or three numbers on the cello for illustration, and may have a student perform.

More information can be found at flintcenter.com/show_info.html.

Feb. 5:

Redwood City's first celebration of Lunar New Year, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.: This is the first time for Redwood City to hold a Lunar New Year's festival at its Courthouse Plaza.

The free event will feature Chinese lion dancers, the Red Panda Acrobats, and martial arts demonstrations from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Participants can also learn to say simple Chinese words, practice how to use chopsticks from picking up foods with auspicious meanings, make paper boats from chopsticks wrappers and play Mahjong or Chinese chess.

Additional information is available at redwoodcity.org/events.

Lunar New Year celebration at San Leandro Library:

The library will host performances of lion dancers, Vietnamese folk dancers and martial arts demonstrators of Vovinam Viet-Do-Dao of San Jose. See world-famous magician, Chin-Chin and a storytelling of Amy Tan’s Moon Lady. The fun continues with Ms. Wei’s Chinese Children Dancers of the San Leandro Marina Community Center, the Young Swallows Orchestra of the Chinese Christian School, celebrated child singer Flora Hui, plus the Thai Classical Dancers of the Wat Buddhapradeep Temple in San Bruno.

It's all free and all part of The Joy Luck Club Big Read program.

Additionally, Asian arts and crafts sessions will be hosted for free by the Asian Community Cultural Association of San Leandro.

The library is at 300 Estudillo Ave. in San Leandro. Call 510-577-3971 for more details.

Feb. 5-6

The 29th Annual Vietnamese Tet Festival in San Jose: Tet means "new year" in Vietnamese. 

Both Chinese and Vietnamese calendars have 12 animals that take turns representing a year. Each year except one is shared by both the Vietnamese and the Chinese—this year. Vietnamese observe the Year of the Cat but the Chinese call it the Year of the Rabbit.

A grand festival celebrating the cat year will take place at Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Rd., San Jose, on Feb. 5 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m and Feb. 6 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $10, $7 children 12 years and younger, $8 parking.

This is the largest overseas Vietnamese annual event worldwide. It presents more than 100 programs and draws 40,00-70,000 attendees every year. For detailed information about its programs, visit  hoitetfairgrounds.org/

Feb. 6:

Chinese dances and parade in Albany

Catch free dance and acrobatic performances Sunday at the Albany Twin Theater, 1115 Solano Ave., in Albany. Among the festivities are a performance by SF Circus, a lion dance and martial arts demonstration by Golden Lion, Chinese dances performed by members of Ah-Lan Dance, and music courtesy of Wind Chinese Music Academy. Performances are from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., followed by a parade that has an open invitation for all to join, noon to 1 p.m.

More information can be found at solanostroll.org, or call 510-527-5358.

Foster City's "Temple Fair," 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.:

Foster City will host a free Lunar New Year's festival at Lagoon Room of the Recreation Center, 650 Shell Blvd., Sunday.

Based on the Chinese tradition of having holiday celebrations on temple grounds, the event is themed "Temple Fair." It will spotlight a Chinese-American re-creation of a village street fair, where there will be musical, acrobatic and lion dance performances, tea ceremonies, demonstrations of ancient martial arts, calligraphy and brush painting, art exhibitions, Chinese-opera-style face painting, and animated storytelling in Chinese and English.

Participants can also snap fun photos with the 12 Chinese zodiac animal characters.

More details are available at fostercity.org/news/press_releases.

Feb. 10: 

Miss Chinatown USA Pageant in San Francisco, 7:30 p.m

Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon St. at Bay Street. For more than 55 years, young women from throughout the United States have come to San Francisco to compete for prizes and scholarships in the annual Miss Chinatown USA Pageant. The winners are goodwill ambassadors for the Chinese community throughout the new year.

Tickets are $35, $45 and $65.  Purchase at the following places:

Chinese Chamber of Commerce, 730 Sacramento St., San Francisco, or call 415-982-3000.

Washington Bakery & Restaurant, 733 Washington St., San Francisco, or call 415-397-3232.

Milpitas Ulferts Center, 688 Barber Lane, Milpitas, or call 408-432-8833.

Ling Ling Chinese Dress, 63 Walter U. Lum Place, San Francisco, or call 415-981-5608.

Feb. 11:

, 7:30 p.m.:
A world-class performance by the acclaimed begins at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 11. The awe-inspiring troupe is a top award-winning group, and has snagged the France President Prize for the Tomorrow Acrobatics Festival, the Golden Clown Award for the Monte Carlo Circus Festival, and First Prize for the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships, to name a few.

flintcenter.com/cal/feb11.html.

Saturday Feb. 12:

Oakland Lunar New Year's Festival, noon-4 p.m.:

The Oakland Asian Cultural Center (OACC) will include elements of Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Vietnamese, and Filipino cultures in its celebration of the Lunar New Year at 388 9th St, Suite 290, Second Floor, Oakland, on Feb. 12. 

The free event will present demonstrations of fruit carving, Chinese calligraphy and brush painting as well as performances by the OACC teachers and their students.

For program details, visit the OACC site.

Lantern Festival in Santa Clara: The 15th day of Lunar New Year's marks the first full moon of the lunar year, and the Chinese annually celebrate it with exhibitions of lanterns that make the full-moon night seem even brighter.

Lantern festivals are rarely seen outside of the Chinese world, but there will be one at Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m, sponsored by the South Bay Taiwanese Association.

During an exhibition of colorful lanterns, there will be dance performances as well as a demonstration of how to make a rabbit-shaped lantern in celebration of the Year of the Rabbit.

There will also be teachers showing children how to make sweet rice balls, the quintessential dessert for Lantern Festival, from scratch. The hotel kitchen staff will cook the sweet rice balls for all participants of the event. The dessert will follow a buffet lunch, both included in the ticket prices, $25 per adult and $5 per child in advance, or $35 per adult and $15 per child at door.

To purchase tickets, email pishun8@yahoo.com.

Books and Me Chinese New Year Party in Los Altos:

This is a small gathering  for children, mostly those who attend the educational programs offered at the library, run by the non-profit Zhaoyu Foundation. The program is Saturday, 2-3:30 p.m. Its most popular story-time teacher, Sheena Chin, will tell Chinese New Year stories and customs, there will be performances of rare Chinese music and dance. Don't miss the fun Chinese New Year crafts, face painting, and games at the end. Space is limited to 40 kids. Advance registration opened February 1, so call ahead.

Go to the library for registration and payment. 4600 El Camino Real, Suite 205, Los Altos, or call 650-941-4379.

Sat-Sun, Feb. 12-13:

in Cupertino:

Acrobatics and various Chinese performing arts, which will include a showcase of folk songs of China's minority ethnic groups (including Tibetan songs), folk dances, kung-fu, and sonorous drumming besides acrobatic stunts similar to those presented by Acrobats of China. The Chinese Spring Festival Gala starts at 7:30 p.m on Feb. 12, and at 2 p.m on Feb. 13.

For ticket information about all the February performances at Flint Center, visit flintcenter.com/show_info.html.

Feb. 13

33rd Annual Chinese New Year Run: Year of the Hare, Feb. 13.

Raise money for the Chinatown YMCA Physical Education Program on this 5 or 10k run through Chinatown and North Beach. Pre-registration at 7 a.m. Feb. 13 at Portsmouth Square. Race begins at Grant and Sacramento Street.

Feb. 18
Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Coronation Ball 6 p.m.-midnight
Black tie dinner/dance, San Francisco Hilton & Towers, 333 O'Farrell St. 
Tickets: (415) 982-3000

Feb. 19:

Chinese New Year's Festival & Parade in San Francisco, Feb. 19, 5:15-8 p.m.

Parade steps off Market and Second streets and ends at Kearny and Jackson streets. Highlights will include elaborate decorated floats, stilt walkers and the 250-foot-long Golden Dragon "Gum Lung." 

The San Francisco parade started in the 1860s and has grown into the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia.

This year, more than 100 units will present colorful floats, elaborate costumes, lively lion dances, and exploding firecrackers. Among them, the newly crowned Miss Chinatown U.S.A. will be there with her court. It is one of the few remaining night illuminated parades in America.

If you don't feel like driving all the way to San Francisco, you can watch it on KTVU Fox 2 or KTSF Channel 26 Feb. 19, 6-8 p.m.

Feb. 19-20:

Chinatown Community Street Fair: San Francisco Chinatown will have a street fair on the weekend of the parade, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Attendance at the two day fair has averaged 500,000 and is estimated to be on the same scale this year. The fair will feature lantern and kite making, calligraphy, fine arts demonstrations, folk dance, and puppet shows. All the activities will take place on Grant Avenue from Clay to Broadway, on Pacific Avenue from Kearny to Stockton, and on Jackson Street from Kearny to Stockton.