College Park hosts 1st Lunar New Year celebration

By NICOLE PILSBURY

College Park observed the Year of the Snake on Feb. 1 at the city’s first-ever Lunar New Year celebration, hosting activities ranging from coloring and crafts to cultural dances and musical performances.

About 300 people of all ages registered for the city hall event, designed to honor the city’s  Asian-American residents, according to College Park’s communications and events manager, Ryna Quiñones. 

“We wanted to celebrate our Asian-American community and our residents, and we thought, what better way to do it than Lunar New Year,” Quiñones said. “It’s a wonderful time of year.”

The event featured traditional performances and snacks, and some participants said they were able to connect with their heritage and cultural backgrounds.

Jaime Le, a College Park resident who attended with her baby daughter, said the event was “an introduction for her to celebrate her heritage. The event showcased traditions that Le said she practices with her own family, such as placing a gold coin in a red envelope for good luck.

Similarly, Alice Robertson, a Korean Silver Spring resident, brought her 1-year-old daughter to the celebration to allow her child to experience the event.

“As a mom, I think the lion dance was really fun, like seeing them feed the red envelopes [to the lion],” Robertson said. She said she was able to connect with the traditional Korean drumming performance by the group Stepping Stones, which reminded her of a similar activity she participated in when she was younger. 

The event kicked off with a performance by the University of Maryland Terp Lions dancers, who performed a lion dance to bring good luck and fortune to the Year of the Snake, according to Quiñones. The dance was followed by the Alice Gu-Zheng Ensemble, which played “America the Beautiful,” “Dance of the Golden Snake,” “Lion Dance” and other songs on the gu-zheng, a string instrument. 

Attendees watched the performances in the city council chambers and walked around city hall, which was decorated with red banners and dragons, as they enjoyed boba, mochi and other snacks. Families took home a children’s book titled, “Eyes that Kiss in the Corners,” which tells the story of learning to love “Asian-shaped eyes,” according to the book’s description.

Attendees had the opportunity to make paper snakes at an arts and crafts station organized by College Park Arts Exchange. Participants also learned about Japanese calligraphy during a demonstration that included hands-on practice. 

“I think this particular Lunar New Year celebration is beautiful because they’ve invited different groups representing different communities to do different performance activities,” Melissa Sites, College Park Arts Exchange executive director, said. “We want to help people celebrate the Lunar New Year in their own way.”

The event included a performance from Natananjali School of Dance students, who performed bharatanatyam, a Southern Indian dance style. Former Gov. Martin O’Malley recognized the school in 2008 for promoting Asian culture through dance. 

A martial arts performance followed the dance, concluding the event. 

Raghu Nambiath, who lives half an hour from College Park, came to the celebration to watch his daughter’s performance with the Natananjali School of Dance. Nambiath said he enjoyed the cultural aspect of the performances.

“I think this is how we can spread the awareness of different cultures across society,” Nambiath  said. “We should be doing more of these kinds of events everywhere.”