The Chinese New Year celebration in Falls Church, Virginia includes live Asian performances (including Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, India, China), educational tours, children’s games and crafts, door prizes, calligraphy, Chinese medicine consultation, Asian food, craft exhibition, dragon parade and more. Along with Chinese traditional arts booths, exhibits will include improving health, beauty, and wellness; a children’s corner to learn origami and Chinese crafts; decorating a lucky tree, and fun kids activities planned by local schools.

FREE Admission. Children will enjoy a host of games, activities and Asian crafts. Kids will also receive a red envelope with “lucky money.”

Date and Time: February 10, 2018, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Rain Date: January 27. Children are welcome to wear Asian attire and join the Dragon Parade inside the school at 2 p.m.

Location: Luther Jackson Middle School, 3020 Gallows Rd. Falls Church, Virginia (703) 868-1509
Website: www.chinesenewyearfestival.org

The following was written by Kery Nunez to describe the festival.

Remember the old saying, “there is a moral to every story”? You will definitely find that with traditional Chinese myths and legends. If you join an educational tour at the Chinese New Year Festival you will hear ancient stories about a very deep and profound culture.

For example, the legend of Nian, tells a story of a demon that terrorized a village on the first day of the year. An old beggar, who visited the village, was treated with compassion by a local woman.

It turns out the old man was not really a beggar but a celestial being who rewarded the villager’s kindness by teaching them how to protect themselves from the Nian monster.

Each Asian country has something special to share. Performances from Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, India, and China among others, are designed to entertain while giving the audience a better understanding of different cultures.

Like past years, there will be a full day display of music, dance and martial arts.

Asian cuisine, cooking classes, calligraphy, Chinese medicine, and kids games and crafts are among the highlights for this year’s festival.

The Dragon Parade is the most popular activity. Children put on Asian dress and parade with a nine-person dragon throughout the school. Two-person dragons were brought in from China and are available for purchase by parents of dragon aficionados.

Tiny Tang, the vice president of the Asian Community Service Center, the main organizer of the festival, said February 4 was a special day nearing the end of lunar new year celebration. Tang said with much enthusiasm, “Chinese people are very excited about February 4th because it is the beginning of spring according to the lunar calendar. Everything wakes up and people’s bad luck is driven away.”

Tang also noted that a large pool of volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure that the event was offered for free and was inclusive of everyone. “We are happy to share our culture and we want everyone to feel welcome. If you look back at history, you will see how different cultures influence one another. ” She added ” I feel that we are all connected,”