Manhattan’s Chinatown welcomed the Lunar New Year in spectacular trend, starting with Midnight Insanity on Canal Road in a single day on Saturday, and persevering with on with celebrations inside Sara D. Roosevelt Park on Sunday.
A jubilant crowd gathered at 211 Canal St. starting at 11 p.m. Saturday. There, crowds lined the sidewalks to ring in the Year of the Rabbit with a slate of cultural performances.
The celebration, hosted by the New York Chinese language Freemasons Athletic, featured extravagant dragon dances accompanied by the thumping beat of drums and bursts of confetti flying in each route.
Later Sunday, the 25th annual Lunar New Year Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival kicked off inside the park. The celebration — hosted by Higher Chinatown USA in collaboration with native elected officers — started at midday with speeches from native bigwigs, reminiscent of Mayor Eric Adams, who appeared on stage wearing conventional Chinese language garb.
Hizzoner appeared out upon a whole lot of attendees who’d packed themselves into and round the park in hopes of getting a glimpse of the commemoration.
“This is an important community,” Mayor Adams mentioned, lauding years of robust participation in Lunar New Year celebrations from native residents and officers alike. “We’re going to continue to move forward together with all of the electeds who represent this community; there has been a strong voice for this community and there’s great hope and prosperity for Chinatown. So, I thank you for allowing us to come out today and celebrate the Year of the Rabbit and the peace and prosperity that is associated with it.”
New Yorkers of all ages waved flags and cried “Happy New Year!” as musicians performed songs to mark the event. Lion dancers additionally placed on a jaw-dropping present that noticed a performer scale a huge, 50-foot pole above the park whereas confetti blasted into the air.
“Happy New Year to Chinatown, Happy Year of the Rabbit, the year that we are gonna go hopping forward to be a stronger Chinatown, a better Chinatown, and I’m so thrilled to partner with all of you in the year ahead,” mentioned Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.
To represent the Year of the Rabbit, lion dancers additionally placed on a efficiency during which they consumed lettuce held out by elected officers on fishing rods. Lastly, a grand firecracker ceremony concluded the celebration. Crowds watched in awe as smoke bellowed and flames arose from the show — an emblem meant to chase away evil spirits.
25th Annual Lunar New Year Firecracker Ceremony at Sara D. Roosevelt Park, NYC
#LunarNewYear 🐰 pic.twitter.com/Gv6Oyeuqdv— Sarah Belle Lin (@SarahBelleLin) January 22, 2023
Whereas the event was actually a contented one, attendees additionally acknowledged the heartbreaking mass taking pictures that left 10 lifeless in Monterey Park, California close to a Lunar New Year festival the evening earlier than.
“We are mindful of the terrible incident in Monterey Park,” New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh instructed the crowd. “We have to do a lot more work to keep our community safe and keep our nation safe.”
Attending Police Division officers additionally acknowledged the tragedy.
“I want to say we are paying attention to what is happening in California and other parts of the United States,” mentioned NYPD Deputy Chief of Neighborhood Affairs Maximo Tolentino. “We have plenty of officers here so this can be celebration.”
