Lunar New Year
Saturday, February 23, 2013
11am-4pm
Courthouse Square & San Mateo County History Museum map (Free Museum Admission this day)
Join friends, family, neighbors, and other community members for this Asian celebration of change and the Year of the Snake! Lion Dancers, Red Panda Acrobats, Martial Arts, Kids Arts & Zodiac Themed Crafts, Food, Inflatable Playland & More! FREE!
11:15am
Opening Ceremonies Kristen Sze of ABC7 Morning News and Redwood Council will welcome everyone to Redwood City’s second Lunar New Year Celebration.
Kristen co-anchors the ABC7 Morning News with Eric Thomas and co-anchors the ABC7 Midday News with Cheryl Jennings, which won the 2009-2010 Northern California Emmy award for best daytime newscast. She also reports for Assignment 7 on ABC7 News at 6.
11:30am Shaolin Culture Center - lion dancers, martial artists and more!
Kung Fu is Chinese term for "martial art", it can also be called "Wu Shu". The holy Shaolin temple of the Buddhism was established about 1600 years ago on the mountain of Sung. It was the symbol of Buddhism power in China, and it also represented the ultimate domination of Buddhism over other religions in the next 1000 years in China. The Shaolin temple was built during the feudal age when warlords divided and ruled each region of China separately. Legend has it that the Shaolin temple devised powerful techniques such that enabled people to punch through concrete wall, to regenerate and heal at faster rate, and to walk on the surface of water like dragonfly.
The Shaolin Culture Center in San Mateo is keeping the Chinese traditions of the Shaolin Monks and their martial arts techniques alive by teaching both adults and children.
12:00pm Vân-Ánh Võ Vietnamese musician and master of the dan tranh zither.
Emmy® Awards Winner, Academy Award® Nominee Contributor, Vietnam National Champion Van-Anh began studying dan tranh from the age of four, and graduated with distinction from and taught at the Vietnam Academy of Music. In 1995, Van-Anh won championship in the Vietnam National Dan Tranh Competition along with the first prize for best solo performance of modern folk music. She has since performed in more than fourteen countries and recorded in many broadcast programs inside and outside of Vietnam. Her first CD “Twelve Months, Four Seasons” was released in 2002. In addition to dan tranh, Van-Anh also performs as soloist on the monochord (bau), the 36-string hammered dulcimer (dan tam thap luc), the bamboo xylophone (dan t’rung), the k’longput, traditional drums (trong), and Chinese guzheng. She lives and teaches dan tranh and other Vietnamese traditional instruments in Fremont, California.
1:00pm Taiko Ensemble Kizakura, a group of Taiko performers from a variety of great Taiko Ensembles around the Bay Area.
Taiko Ren, a high-caliber Taiko ensemble with a fun, energetic style!
2:00pm California Kung Fu & Tai Chi Institute
The goal of California Kung Fu & Tai Chi is to promote both the physical and spiritual growth in our students by teaching both the external and internal martial arts styles. Our ultimate goal is to enhance a student's life through the understanding and application of the values and discipline taught in the Chinese Martial Art styles, traditions and culture.
3:00pm Red Panda Acrobats
The Red Panda Acrobats was formed in 1990 in Shanghai, China. The members are professionally trained from China. Since their first performance in the United States in 1991, the troupe continues to perform year-round in a variety of venues, including corporate and company events, fairs, festivals, sporting events, school assemblies, and TV shows. Although the group is based in the San Francisco Bay area, the Red Panda Acrobats have traveled throughout the nation and overseas performing for well known companies such as Disney World, EPCOT Center, Apple Computer, and Las Vegas Casinos. They have appeared on various television shows internationally, including the Incredible Acrobats, London Television; China's Best Acrobats, Shanghai Television; the Crook & Chase Show; Mornings Live on 2, KTVU-Channel 2, San Francisco; and many more.
4:00pm Closing Ceremony & Lion Dance
The Far East Dragon Lion Dance Association is a non-profit youth group and lion dance troupe which strives to use the traditional Lion Dance as a vehicle for cultural and community awareness. They are also a firm advocate for "women empowerment" especially in a culture where females are discouraged from lion dancing and are the first lion dance troupe in the Bay Area to promote females learning both the musical and dance elements going beyond traditional norms.
Redwood City’s Third Lunar New Year Celebration
Welcome to Redwood City’s third Lunar New Year celebration! The Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in Asian heritage, often celebrated with big family gatherings, gift giving, the eating of symbolic foods, and displays of festive decorations - all focused on bringing good luck for the New Year and celebrating the imminent arrival of spring. Thank you for joining us in Redwood City to celebrate the diversity of our community.
The Year of the Snake
Year of Birth: 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025 Lucky Colors: red, pale yellow, black Lucky Numbers: 2, 8, 9 Lucky Flowers: orchid, cactus
This year welcomes the Year of the Snake and the beginning of a new year on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, and for other Asian cultures. Snake is the sixth sign in the Chinese astrological cycle. History suggests that before Buddha left this world, he invited all of the animals to join him around his table for a feast. Of all of the creatures in the land, only 12 arrived. The steadfast Ox led the way, but at the last moment, the Rat, opportunistic and fleet of foot, scampered over the Ox’ back and arrived first at Buddha’s door. For their loyalty and faithfulness, these animals were rewarded in perpetuity by having a year named after each of them in their order of arrival.
The 12 animals run in sequence beginning with the Rat and followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Money, Rooster, Dog, and last, but not least, the Pig.
If you were born during the Year of the Snake ...
People born in the Year of the Snake are the most intuitive, even while remaining the most private and reticent. Snake people represent the symbol of wisdom. They are intelligent and wise. Snake people are usually regarded as great thinkers.
Snakes are materialistic and love keeping up with the Joneses. They love to posses the best of everything, but they have no patience for shopping. Snake people prefer to work alone, therefore they are easily stressed; if they seem unusually stressed, it is best to allow them their own space and time to return to normal.
Lunar New Year
The Year of the Snake
