Saturday, January 25th is 2020 Lunar New Year and brings in the Year of the Rat! Here are some ways you can celebrate.
1. Attend a traditional Lion Dance or Dragon Dance
Dancers wear giant costumes and dance to the surrounding drums and cymbals and gongs to help chase away evil spirits and bring good luck. It’s loud and fun and colorful and wonderful!
The Albuquerque Chinese Culture Center hosts a FREE New Year Celebration January 25th, 1:00 – 2:30. They recommend you come early to get a good spot. There will be Dragon and Lion dances, music, and martial arts demonstrations. The center is at 427 Adams St. SE, 87108.
Talin Market will have three celebrations with Lion Dances: Jan. 25 at 11 am, Jan. 26 at 1 pm, and Jan. 27 at 10 am.
The GDPT Quang Minh Lion Dance Team and their drummers are going to be busy — they have over 30 performances coming up! They will perform two of the shows at Talin Market, which has lots of parking and is fun to explore after the show. Here are some of their other public performances:
- Pho Bar in Rio Rancho, Friday Jan. 24,7 pm
- Princess Spa and Nail, Saturday, Jan. 25th, 11 am
- Sparkle Nails, Saturday, Jan. 25th, 1:30 pm
- Ming Dynasty, Sunday Jan. 26th, Noon
- Viet Rice in Rio Rancho, Sunday, Jan. 26th, 3 pm
- Basil Leaf, Sunday, Jan. 26th, 5 pm
2. Make your Own New Year Decoration
Download this PDF and color your own Year of the Rat! We’d love to see what you make! Post your New Year’s Rat on Instagram, and we’ll make a collage of rats. That should definitely help chase away evil spirits and bring in good luck!
@abq-kids #abqkids #ChineseNewYearABQ
3. Make Fortune Cookies
Fortune cookies are really easy and fun to make…Just remember to make the paper strips of fortunes before you start making the cookies!
