Out with the tiger, in with the rabbit

Sonia Ruiz

Lion dancers entertained the crowd on Whitney Avenue at this year’s Lunar New Year celebration. View full image

After two years of virtual Lunar New Year celebrations in New Haven, the lion dancers were back on Whitney Avenue on January 28 to ring in the Year of the Rabbit. In addition to the traditional parade, the eleventh annual Lunarfest—the largest annual Lunar New Year celebration in Connecticut—included a tai chi performance and class, a shadow puppet show, an open mic event at Yale’s Office of International Students and Scholars, a calligraphy workshop, and other activities.

Lunarfest is hosted by Yale-China, a  122-year-old organization that collaborates with partners in China and the US on projects related to arts, education, and health. “We were really pleased to be able to organize it in person this time,” says Yale-China president John Frisbie. He says the celebration is for the local Asian community—but also so that a larger New Haven and Connecticut audience “can see what this holiday is all about.”

An estimated 1,500 people were on hand for the parade this year. “We’re already looking forward to next year,” says Frisbie. “It’ll be the year of the dragon.”