Flushing Chamber of Commerce
Feb. 16, 2018 By Tara Law
Queens will celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Dog with festivities in Flushing and Elmhurst this weekend.
The annual Flushing Lunar New Year Parade will kick off at 11 a.m. at Union Street and 37th Ave. The popular parade brings thousands of people to the Flushing and features vibrant costumes and traditional Chinese performances, including the well known-dragon dance.
The event features traditional dancing and music, as well as cultural groups on floats.
The Lunar New Year is celebrated by the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Malaysians, among other groups. It marks the beginning of a the year with wishes for financial success.
The Greater Flushing Chamber of Commerce, a parade organizer, is holding a reception prior to the big event at St. George’s Church Episcopal Church at 135-32 38th Ave from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The reception will feature local groups, such as Korea Taekwondo that will be showcasing martial arts, and dance group EPIC 88 that will be performing K-Pop dance and participatory K-Pop Zumba.
In a separate celebration, The Queens Botanical Garden at 43-50 Main Street Flushing will host its Lunar New Year celebration from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees can learn about lucky Lunar New Year plants, such as chrysanthemums and jade plants.
The garden will host performances and activities throughout the afternoon. There will be story time in English and Mandarin from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. A paper cutting workshop in English and Mandarin will take place from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Korea Taekwondo will also host demonstrations from 1:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. A lion dance performance will take place from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Zodiac Animal Face Painting is available throughout the day.
Another celebration will be held at the Queens Center Mall, located at 90-15 Queens Blvd, by the Asian networking group AsianInNY.
The event will feature an array of performances and activities including Chinese and Korean dance, martial arts, music, tea tasting, calligraphy, paper folding and cutting, Chinese painting and lantern making.
Various stores will offer special promotions, and 200 guests will receive a red envelope with prizes and gifts.
