Celebrated by an estimated two billion people around the globe (or a quarter of the world’s population), the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends fifteen days later with the first full moon, this year running (according to Gregorian calendar dates) January 29-February 12. In the Chinese zodiac, firmly established by the latter half of the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), each year in a twelve-year cycle is associated with an animal and each of the twelve animals represents a personality that typifies the year and those born during that year. 2025 is the Year of the Snake (as were 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, and 2013), symbolizing wisdom, intuition, and transformation (since the snake sheds its skin), while offering opportunities for personal growth and change. Among the events being presented in NYC are comedy skits, dance performances, storytelling, and family-friendly activities.
Kupferberg Center for the Arts kicks off the festivities on Saturday-Sunday, January 25-26, starting at 3 pm, with a 65-minute family dance performance embracing the spirit of the Lunar New Year: Celebrating the Year of the Snake through the beauty and power of dance, as Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company – a rare woman-led Asian American professional touring company, with a mission of providing innovative cultural experiences that reflect the hope and energy of the immigrant’s journey – takes the stage at the Goldstein Theatre, blending ancient Chinese traditions with contemporary movement.
The program celebrates themes of harmony, renewal, and empowerment, featuring performances of “Lion in the City,” a fusion of Lion Dance and hip-hop; “Unfolding,” a collaboration between Nai-Ni Chen and a Korean Janggu performer, exploring life’s continuous change; the debut of the new work “Dances of the Golden Snake,” choreographed by Ying Shi; and culminating in “Dragon Festival,” a blessing for the community.
Lunar New Year: Celebrating the Year of the Snake plays Saturday, January 25-Sunday, January 26, starting at 3 pm, at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, Goldstein Theatre, Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, Queens. For tickets (priced at $20; no fees), go online.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts rings in 2025 and the Year of the Snake on Saturday, February 1, beginning at 10 am, with its free diasporic Lunar New Year Celebration of self-discovery, transformation, and connection. The five-hour party of live performances and interactive activities, goodies and fun, commences at David Geffen Hall and concludes on Josie Robertson Plaza, with a full schedule for kids, teens, and families, inviting everyone to drop-in throughout the day and to stay as long as you’d like.
The line-up is as follows:
10:00 am – Doors open for visits to arts and craft stations, food vendors, and having your photo taken at a custom step-and-repeat created by artist Prisca Choe;
11:00 am – Storytime in the Lobby with Ashley Chang and Jeffrey Chan, authors of The ABC Digest: Tasting Chinatown from A to Z;
12:00 pm – Happy Lunar New Year presentation from Beijing Prince Kung’s Palace Museum;
12:30 pm – Korean Traditional Music & Dance Center performance on the Grand Promenade;
1:15 pm – Dance to a DJ set by Dominick Alcantara of the Filipino-American creative collective BARANGAY; and
2:00 pm – Traditional Lion Dance performance by Tai Look on the Josie Roberston Plaza.
Lunar New Year Celebration plays on Saturday, February 1, from 10 am-3 pm, at Lincoln Center Presents, performing at David Geffen Hall and Josie Robertson Plaza, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, NYC. Tickets are free, general admission, on a first-come first-served basis.
Later that night, on Saturday, February 1, starting at 9:30 pm, NYC’s acclaimed all-AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Model Majority sketch comedy team – recently featured on CBS, NY1, and ABC’s Good Morning America, and founded by Veronica Dang in 2018, to increase positive Asian representation and to eliminate stereotypes in comedy – brings the laughs to Caveat cabaret theater for an adult 21+ audience with its Model Majority Year of the Snake Comedy Show.
The self-described “sssexy and sssilly night of sssnake-filled sketch comedy, music, guest performers, drink specials, and Asian treats,” featuring troupe members Dang, Lindsay Burton, Kevin Chew, Nivedita Kulkarni, Carol Lee, Juliette Lin, Dustin Luangkhot, Jeremy Rafal, and Fred Chong Rutherford, and special guest Jimmy Chen, will also include gifts of red envelopes for the audience, traditionally containing different amounts of money and given to family members for a happy and prosperous New Year. If you go, festive attire, especially red and gold clothing (colors believed to bring good luck and wealth) is requested, and masks and COVID vaccinations are recommended, “since it’s bad luck to be sick for the new year!” If you can’t make it in person, you can watch it via livestream and VOD.
Model Majority Year of the Snake Comedy Show plays Saturday, February 1, from 9:30-11 pm (doors open at 9 pm), at Caveat, 21A Clinton Street, NYC. For tickets ($25 standard, $30 at the door, $20 early bird until Jan 25, 09:30 pm, plus fees), go online. Please note that no outside food or drink is allowed. Tickets may be refunded up to 24 hours before the event. For the livestream and VOD through Saturday, February 8 (priced at $10 plus fees), click here.
