Cultural activities celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year to be held around New York

NEW YORK - A number of cultural and entertainment activities will be held during February in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as part of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, according to the Chinese Consulate General in New York.

Included are multiple online concerts, theatrical performances, exhibitions, a photo contest, lighting ceremonies at landmark buildings as well as celebrations by several sports teams.

Young artists from Chinese conservatories of music and US partners will jointly present a virtual concert with the theme of "Sounds of Spring" on Feb 6, said Deputy Chinese Consul General in New York Qian Jin on Friday.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) will stage a virtual concert on Feb 6 and a weeklong festival prior to the concert to celebrate the Year of the Ox, according to the website of NJSO.

The virtual festival will highlight community performers and cultural groups, traditional performances, cooking demonstrations and others, said NJSO.

The Philadelphia Orchestra is set to present the Lunar New Year Celebration Concert starting from Feb 4, according to its website.

Fort Lee Public Library will have several events to celebrate the Lunar New Year, featuring family performance, cooking and storytelling, according to the schedule of events with the library.

The Empire State Building will have a window exhibition on the Chinese Zodiac starting from Feb 8 and hold a lighting ceremony on Feb 10, according to Qian.

Lighting ceremonies will also be held at other landmarks like One World Trade Center, The Oculus, John F Kennedy International Airport and the Bayonne Bridge.

Moreover, the Center for Chinese Art with William Paterson University of New Jersey will hold an exhibition on Chinese woodblock New Year prints during Feb 10-28 with a virtual lecture and presentation to be held on Feb 17.

Sports teams like the Brooklyn Nets, the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils are also expected to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in their own ways.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is the most important holiday for Chinese around the world. This year's Spring Festival falls on Feb 12.