Lunarfest Welcomes Year Of The Rabbit

A phalanx of focused martial arts students wheeled and turned on Whitney Avenue, kicking and striking powerful poses. 

Lions bounded, bestowed blessings, and received gifts. 

And, in a series of speeches, community leaders remarked on how the news of the past few years and the past few weeks — of the pandemic and the spate of shootings in California — made the festivities that much more important. 

Such was the mood at Lunarfest on Saturday, organized by the Yale-China Association, which returned in-person this year with a full day of activities across downtown to commemorate the Year of the Rabbit and celebrate Asian-American culture.

The New Haven Museum saw a tai chi and wushu performance and class with Shifu Shirley Chock and Master Jack Guo, as well as a Chinese dragon automaton workshop put on by apprentices from the Eli Whitney Museum. Long Wharf hosted a Year of the Rabbit open mic. Creative Arts Workshop hosted a calligraphy workshop and offered a chance to see the gallery exhibition Băng Qua Nước: Across Land, Across Water. The New Haven Free Public Library scheduled a lion dance and a puppet workshop.

But the centerpiece of the celebration, as in years past, remained the lion parade up Whitney Avenue from Elm to Trumbull Streets, which drew an eager crowd well before its start time.

As the parade progressed and the crowd thickened, two cavorting lions criss-crossed Whitney Avenue, accepting red envelopes with tips from onlookers (especially children) and rewarding them with colorful attention.

As the lions passed the long-standing Asian businesses Hong Kong Grocery and Great Wall, both lions entered those establishments and graced them, moving through the aisles and greeting the smiling owners, looking forward to a good year ahead. 

When the lions re-emerged onto Whitney Avenue, that particular block had become a stage, where the assembled crowd gathered in close to hear from representatives of the Yale-China Association, the City of New Haven, and community leaders.

First speaker Ming Thompson, an architect by trade and trustee of the Yale-China Association, welcomed the assembled crowd to Lunarfest. She recalled how the last time the parade had been in person was just weeks before the pandemic started in 2020. ​“We’re so glad to be able to gather together joyfully once again,” she said.

But, she added, ​“I can’t let this moment pass without acknowledging the difficulties that Asian-Americans have faced since we last met here. From the tragedies that struck California last week to rising discrimination and violence against Asian-Americans, I urge all of us here — from Asian-American folks to their allies — to work with us to find ways to shine light in the darkness, to work to educate and protect, to build policies and resources, and to bring care to the AAPI community.”

“I’m so thrilled for all of us to able to share our cultural heritage with our children today,” she added. Thanking the crowd for assembling to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, ​“and reminding us that our community, and the New Haven community, are stronger than ever.”

Shirley Kuang, executive administrative assistant to the mayor, was on hand to represent the City and talk about her own connection to Lunarfest.

“It’s been a hard week,” she said. ​“Even as we celebrate today, we can’t help but remember the 11 lives that were lost in the Monterey Park shooting just last week and the seven lives that were lost in the Half Moon Bay shooting. This past week I’ve been asking myself this question: What does hope look like in the midst of tragedy? One answer that has come to me is that hope looks like getting back up. And today it looks like many of you have gotten back up, and you’ve showed up to celebrate, to gather, to remember, and mourn. Maybe you felt sad this past week. Maybe you felt scared. But you got up and you are here.”

Also remarking that this was the return of the in-person parade since the pandemic, she added that ​“there is a lot to get back up for and celebrate. My second answer to what hope looks like is this: being in community together. Today is a day where we celebrate community, where we celebrate the richness of our stories, our heritage, our cultures, our families. And we celebrate that New Haven is a city with so much diversity. And so even as we grieve, this is how we heal … by gathering together, celebrating together, eating food together, having fun together, dancing together, remembering together, and advocating together.” She noted that five people have died in New Haven due to gun violence in the past month. ​“So let’s continue to work together as a community to reduce gun violence, provide services and support for those that are most harmed and impacted, even in our own city. Let’s continue to be involved in our city, in our neighborhood, in our community. Get to know your neighbors.”

“Take time to mourn if you haven’t,” she concluded. ​“Ask: what does hope look like for me? And let’s celebrate getting back up and being in community together.”

Shirley Chock, secretary of the board of the New England Asian American Cultural Center, noted ​“how important Lunarfest is to help us to feel affirmed and appreciated for our culture and heritage.” She explained that she moved to Connecticut over two decades ago, and ​“I still remember that very first Lunar New Year I celebrated” here. It was ​“just another Wednesday at work. It was completely unacknowledged and for someone who is used to celebrating the Lunar New Year,” as she had growing up in New York City, ​“it was a very empty and disenfranchised feeling.” In the 13 years since Yale-China first put together Lunarfest, however, ​“every year it has grown bigger. It has become this,” she said, acknowledging the crowd. ​“Now my kids can have that same feeling I had growing up, that they live in a place where their culture heritage is affirmed and appreciated.”

Chock is also the owner and executive director of Aiping Tai Chi in Milford; she and Master Jack Guo of the Wu Dang Kung Fu Academy just recently formed the NEAACC as a nonprofit. ​“AAPI culture shouldn’t just be celebrated a few times a year,” she said. The community is ​“made up of a backbone of small business owners, mom and pop shops. Many of us don’t have nonprofits to go and help support community.” She was hoping that the NEAACC could help change that, so that ​“the Year of the Rabbit — or the Year of the Cat, if you’re in the Vietnamese tradition, is going to be the year that we come together and support each other, so we can grow.”

Following the speeches was a kinetic wushu demonstration from members of the Wu Dang Kung Fu Academy, which drew hearty cheers and applause from the crowd.

The two lions then returned to mark the end of the parade, wishing all a happy new year as people took pictures and videos.

Shortly after the parade concluded, the Ju Long Wushu lion dance troupe from South Windsor put on a second lion dance in the basement of the Ives branch of the New Haven Free Public Library. Luis Chavez-Brumell, the library’s deputy director, noted that the library had expected a crowd of about 30 and got at least triple that. Library staff quickly enlarged the space they had set aside for the event, which became standing room only. After the lions danced, they posed for pictures for children and allowed children and adults alike to touch the costumes and understand better how they worked.

A craft project for kids passed the short time between the lion dance and a performance from Kimberly Van Aelst, artistic director of OompaPossum Puppets, who first regaled kids and their parents with a spirited take on the old fable of the tortoise and the hare that ended in a pizza party with ice cream.

Afterward, the children were encouraged to make their own shadow puppets, which, Van Aelst promised, they would be able to try out in her light box to see how they worked.

As children lined up one by one to give it a shot, parents beamed and Van Aelst offered encouragement and advice. The mood was utterly festive, back in stride, as if the celebration hadn’t missed a year. It was normal, and that made it special.