Light your way to a bright and happy Chinese New Year on the final and 15th day of this celebration known as the Lantern Festival. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition FIFTY-SIX CHINESE HAT BOXES — and one hat! and in partnership with the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, the Lantern Festival will engage participants of all ages in this more than 2,000 year old expression of Chinese history and culture. Learn about the origins and traditions associated with the holiday, make your own paper lantern reflecting traditional Chinese themes, participate in mythological and cultural dramatizations and join in a culminating parade of beautiful lanterns.
Information: 619-239-0003, ext. 405 or www.mingei.org

The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum cordially invites you to the Fourteenth Annual Banquet on February 6, 2010 at 5:30 pm. The luxurious New Year celebration at Pearl Restaurant in Rancho Bernardo will feature musical performances, a silent auction of fabulous antiques from Genghis Khan Furniture and a delectable, ten-course Chinese feast. Tickets are available for $50, or front-row sponsor tickets for $100. Or treat your friends and family by reserving a table of 10 for $500, or a sponsor table for $1000.
February 14, 2010 marks the start of the Year of the Tiger and the Chinese New Year Festival, fifteen days full of firecrackers, dragon dances, good food, and visits to family and friends. People born in a tiger year take on its qualities of strength, courage, and competitiveness. Each day of the New Year Festival features specific customs that have been passed down through countless generations. Even before the celebration begins, Chinese families give their homes a thorough cleaning to sweep away any bad luck from the previous year. On the first day of the New Year, revelers welcome the deities of heaven and earth and visit the oldest members of the extended family. On the second day of the New Year, married women visit their birth parents. During these “new-year visits” 拜年 to relatives and friends, children receive money in red envelopes called hong bao 紅包. The seventh day is known as renri 人日, the common man's birthday, or the day everyone grows one year older. The first full moon of the year marks the fifteenth and final day of the New Year known as the Lantern Festival or Yuanxiao Jie 元宵節 when families feast on tangyuan 湯圓, a sweet glutinous rice ball brewed in a soup, and walk the streets carrying beautifully crafted lanterns and enjoying one another's company. Every Chinese holiday involves lots of good food and good company, so come partake in this tradition and celebrate the New Year at our annual banquet!

For tickets, contact the museum at 619-338-9888, Sawyer Hsu 760-233-0088, or Donna Lee 858-271-6304.

The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum is pleased to take part in the 28th annual San Diego Chinese New Year fair, coordinated by the San Diego Chinese Center.
The two-day, free festival will celebrate the Year of the Tiger (4708 on the lunar calendar). The festival entertainment includes lion and dragon dancers, Chinese acrobats, Chinese folk dance and music, martial arts demonstrations, and Asian Story Theater. A children’s activity area will feature Chinese crafts and calligraphy. Festival attendees can visit over 75 food and vendor booths.
The San Diego Chinese Historical Museum will welcome visitors during the festival and will have a special exhibit of Chinese New Year prints - traditional decorations designed to welcome good fortune and ward off bad luck for the New Year. The museum also features a display case dedicated to the New Year celebration complete with firecrackers, lanterns, and a lion’s head. Visitors can also view a major exhibit prepared especially for the New Year season entitled Five Dynasties of Chinese Pottery. This display covers 2,000 years of the evolution of ceramic arts from the Han to the Ming Dynasties. In addition, the museum is updating its permanent collection with a case of eight artistic, hand-made and painted ceramic Chinese opera characters from the early twentieth century. These rare figures made by a group of artists from Zhejiang, China are so fragile that very few undamaged specimens still exist today. During the fair museum volunteers will also be writing Chinese calligraphy for visitors.
For more information, please call 619-398-7025 or visit the SDCC's website at http://2010.sdcny.org

Please RSVP by 3:30pm on the Friday prior to the walking tour by calling the museum at 619-338-9888.
$2.00 donation per adult. The Asian Pacific Historic Collaborative is a cosponsor. For more information, please contact the museum, or visit the Collaborative's website at www.asianpacificdistrict.org

Gaslamp District, 3rd and J Streets. Fresh fruits and vegetables. Gourmet foods. Asian wares.