The Kennedy Center Announces The Return Of A Lunar New Year Celebration

From January 27 through February 6, the Kennedy Center's Lunar New Year Celebration returns, honoring the traditional holiday that is observed in countries and territories around the globe. This year's free festivities in the "Year of the Tiger," presented in collaboration with Kaleido Arts & Entertainment Group LCC, include the return of the popular Winter Lanterns display outdoors on the REACH campus, performances on the Millennium Stage, and two weekends of special evening programs-REACH Winter Lanterns PLUS, celebrating Chinese and Korean arts and culture.

"The Winter Lanterns became an exciting and important part of our annual Lunar New Year Celebration that began in 2016." stated Alicia Adams, Vice President of International Programming and curator of the Kennedy Center's Lunar New Year celebrations. "The outdoor spaces of the REACH provide our audiences with a wonderful opportunity to experience the Chinese and Korean cultures. And after a year hiatus, we are thrilled to return to our annual celebration and hope visitors of all ages will enjoy the unique and luminous lanterns around the campus."

With a stunning display of approximately 100 Winter Lanterns, the REACH Winter Lanterns are made up of 10,000 colored LED lights and crafted by Chinese artisans. Offering a whimsical experience for visitors, the Winter Lanterns display includes six outdoor installations: the Butterfly Garden, Flamingo Lagoon, Coral Reef, Panda Grove, Mushroom Forest, and Flower Path.

REACH Winter Lanterns PLUS, January 27-30 and February 3-6, will add excitement and interactive outdoor activities to the evenings. The first week, which will highlight Chinese culture, offers photo opportunities with Tiger and Panda characters; writing and sending letters to former National Zoo pandas Bao Bao, Tai Shan, and Bei Bei, who are now in China; Lunar New Year freebies, and more. The second week of the celebration spotlights Korean arts and culture and includes activities such as a traditional Korean costume display at the River Pavilion; photo opportunities with Korean mascot characters, along with further Lunar New Year giveaways. Both weekends will include food truck offerings on the REACH plaza.

Featuring the 2021 Asian American Music Society (AAMS) competition winners along with George Mason University student performers, the January 29 Millennium Stage performance will include performances of traditional classical repertoires of West to East highlighting instrumentalists (Jasmine Flower String Quartet, Woodwind Ensemble, among others), as well as AAMS's Chamber Singers. Korean artists take the Millennium Stage on February 3 to share performances composed of Korean creative music mixed with Korean traditional instruments and Western instruments. K-Pop dancers will also collaborate on various music selections.

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