BRATTLEBORO — Asian Cultural Center of Vermont presents this year's celebration of the Lunar New Year of China, Korea, and Vietnam on Sunday, Feb. 18, from 1 to 3:30 p.m., at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, 10 Vernon St.
This potluck is the 16th annual celebration of its kind in southeastern Vermont. This year, they feature Li Fei Osbourne who will share a dance of the Yi people (one of the Chinese ethnic minorities) and then teach a Yi dance to everyone.
The entire community is invited to dance with the Dragon, do group calligraphy, join a Korean tug-of-war, make a paper lantern or some origami, and sing a New Year's song from East Asia to usher in The Year of the Brown Earth, one in which many voices around the world rise to highlight the importance of the universal values of justice, dialogue, and solidarity.
The 30-foot Vietnamese dragon will arrive around 2:15 p.m., and the parade up Main Street will bring luck for the coming year. According to Chinese folklore, this enormous marionette, requiring at least nine people to hold, is forever chasing the “heavenly pearl” in its pursuit of wisdom.
Seth Harter, Director of Asian Studies at Marlboro College, brought this extraordinary dragon back from the village of an accomplished Vietnamese craftsman. During the rest of the year, the dragon “lives” in the Marlboro College cafeteria.
More information on the Lunar New Year can be found at accvt.org.