NEW YORK, NY.- The Metropolitan Museum of Art will host a Lunar New Year Festival in celebration of the Year of the Horse on Saturday, February 7. The festival will honor Lunar New Year traditions from across Asia and feature artist-led workshops, performances, and interactive activities for participants of all ages. Events will take place throughout the Museum from 12 pm to 5 pm. All activities are free with Museum admission and no registration is required. Admission is free for Members and kids under 12 and pay-as-you-wish for all New Yorkers and students from Connecticut and New Jersey.

Highlights include a Lunar New Year Lion and Dragon Dance kick-off celebration by the Wan Chi Ming Hung Gar Institute; a performance by the Columbia Wushu Martial Arts team; a community hub at the Temple of Dendur showcasing community organizations around New York City showcasing art, events, resources, and more fun; and storytime with children's book author Aram Kim.

Festival participants are invited to share their celebrations by tagging #MetLunar.

EVENTS

The full program schedule with details is available on The Met's website in English, Korean, simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, and Spanish.

Performances:

The festival will begin with a lion and dragon dance performance by the Wan Chi Ming Hung Gar Institute at 12 pm. Sesame Street Muppeteers featuring Alan Muraoka will explore traditions of Lunar New Year (12:10–12:40 pm, 1–1:30 pm), AAPI Jazz Collective led by Peter Lin will perform music from many Asian cultures (3–3:45 pm, 4:15–5 pm), and the Lunar New Year Performance Showcase (3–3:30 pm, 4–4:30 pm) will present the Columbia Wushu Martial Arts team, a drum dance from New York Korean Performing Arts Center, and a traditional dance from the Vietnam Heritage Center.

Art Activities, Demonstrations, Talks and Storytelling:

Art-making workshops will be offered throughout the day. Attendees can create their own unique horse ornament and add to the community sculpture inspired by the global connections of the Silk Road, practice calligraphy, make drums, and decorate fans. Author Aram Kim will host a family-friendly Storytime reading her book Tomorrow is New Year's Day (12:30–1 pm, 1:30–2 pm), and Chinatown bookshop Yu and Me will host a pop-up shop focusing on community and immigrant stories.

At the Temple of Dendur, organizations across New York City will be part of a Community Culture Hub celebrating community through art, events, resources, and more. Participating organizations include: Mekong NYC, BAXTER ST at the Camera Club of New York, Ten Ren Tea, Lunar New Year For All, and Think!Chinatown.

Throughout the day, there will be drop-in conversations with Met volunteer guides in various galleries in English, Mandarin, and Korean. From 1:30–4:30 pm, visitors can meet curators and Met educators to learn more about handscrolls from the Collection.

RELATED EXHIBITIONS

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects ranging in date from the 3rd millennium B.C. to the 21st century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of Asia's many civilizations is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world. Works from the collection are featured in current exhibitions and displayed across the department's many galleries.

Celebrating the Year of the Horse (on view through January 26, 2027) presents works from the Museum's collection depicting the horse in various media. The exhibition brings together works from The Met collection to explore the horse's enduring nature and vital place in Chinese civilization.

Other exhibitions on view include Colorful Korea: The Lea R. Sneider Collection (through February 16), highlighting the pervasiveness of auspicious symbolism and the unpretentious dynamism in Korean art; Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: Selections from the Collection (through May 31), spotlighting selections of Chinese art from The Met collection spanning fifteen hundred years of cultural production and featuring a variety of genres, techniques, and styles; Household Gods: Hindu Devotional Prints, 1860–1930 (through June 27, 2027), presenting the first encyclopedic exhibition of these chromolithographic prints from the pioneering studio presses of Calcutta (Kolkata), Poona (Pune), and Bombay (Mumbai); A Passion for Jade: The Bishop Collection (through June 28), showcasing over 100 remarkable objects representing the sophisticated art of Chinese gemstone carvers and Mogul Indian craftsmen; and Embracing Color: Enamel in Chinese Decorative Arts, 1300–1900 (through June 28), featuring works that reveal the aesthetic, technical, and cultural achievement of Chinese enamel wares during the Ming and Qing dynasties.