2024 is the year of the dragon! Celebrate Lunar New Year at the San Carlos library with free activities for all ages, including a lion dance, cultural performances, bi-lingual story time, red envelope distribution, crafts and other hands-on activities, and FOOD TRUCKS: The Chairman | Saigon Street Food — on Chestnut Street.
We invite everyone to wear lunar new year clothes to celebrate!
Sponsors & Supporters: The City of San Carlos, The San Mateo County Libraries, Recology, Community Foundation of San Carlos and volunteers.
About Lunar New Year
Also known as the Spring Festival in China, Lunar New Year is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar. It is the most important holiday in China, and it is also widely celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam, and countries with a significant overseas Chinese population. While the official dates encompassing the holiday vary by culture, those celebrating consider it the time of the year to reunite with immediate and extended family. A highlight that often kicks off the holiday is the Lunar New Year's Eve reunion dinner, a feast with a spread of symbolic dishes representing abundance, all of which are said to bring good luck and fortune. The fifteenth and final day of the holiday is sometimes marked by eating tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice balls, and carrying lanterns to conclude the celebration.
We acknowledge that many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders do not follow the Chinese/lunar zodiac. (Source: Smithsonian)
Event Schedule
11:00AM - Food Trucks arrive
Bi-Lingual story time
Red envelope distribution by local seniors
12:00PM - Performances
Skit on Nian and traditions
Challenge School - Musical performance
Joy Culture Foundation - kid’s lion dance
Chinese Yo Yo performance
American Chinese Youth Performing Arts Foundation - Qing Dynasty performance
Twin Dragon Kung Fu Academy - martial arts demonstration
1:00PM - Crafts & Activities
Jojo Calligraphy - Traditional Chinese calligraphy - get your name translated and written in calligraphy from 1:00-2:30pm
Live Love Learn Chinese - Calligraphy and Dragon headband craft
Joy Culture Foundation - Craft & books
Mahjong! with volunteers to teach how to play
2:30PM - Professional Lion Dance Performance by Yau Kung Moon Tak Fung Kwoon Martial Arts