Lunar New Year in New York City is a living expression of immigrant culture, carried across generations and celebrated each winter through food, music, ritual, and community. This year, Lunar New Year falls on February 17, marking the beginning of Year of the Horse.
From museum programs and family festivals to lion dances, parades, and street celebrations, these events reflect the traditions and resilience that shape the city. This guide highlights Lunar New Year events throughout February and early March, offering ways to celebrate while honoring the stories, resilience, and joy of immigrant New Yorkers.
Lunar New Year in New York City is a time to gather, celebrate, and honor the traditions that continue to shape our communities. However you choose to participate — through food, music, art, movement, or shared moments — may the Year of the Horse bring connection, strength, and good fortune in the year ahead.
Manhattan Lunar New Year Events
The Met Lunar New Year Festival
- Time: Saturday, February 7 from 12 to 5 p.m.
- Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1000 5th Ave., New York, NY)
- Tickets: All activities are free with Museum admission, and no registration is required. Admission is pay-as-you-wish for NYC residents.
This is a museum-wide celebration through performances, art-making, and community programs. Highlights include lion and dragon dances, martial arts and dance showcases, an interactive appearance by Sesame Street Muppeteers, live music from the AAPI Jazz Collective, storytimes, gallery chats, photo booths provided by Think!Chinatown, and hands-on art activities inspired by The Met collection. More details here.
Lunar New Year Arts afternoon at Abrons Arts Center
- Time: Saturday, February 7 from 12 to 5 p.m.
- Location: 466 Grand Street at Pitt Street, New York, NY
- Tickets: Free. RSVP here.
Join Abrons Arts Center, Lucky Risograph, and The W.O.W. Project for a festive afternoon of all-ages art activities, karaoke, and a dynamic lion dance performance in celebration of the Year of the Fire Horse. More details here.
MOCA Lunar New Year Mixer: Year of the Horse
- Time: Thursday, February 12 from 6 to 9 p.m.
- Location: Museum of Chinese in America (215 Centre St, New York, NY)
- Tickets: $20 General Admission. $15 Student & Senior. Get tickets here.
This is an energetic evening celebration blending culture, play, and community in the museum after hours. Guests can enjoy Taiwanese Mahjong, almanac readings, a hands-on lunar calendar workshop, and live music. With refreshments, gallery access, and space to mingle, the mixer offers a warm, social way to welcome the Year of the Horse through tradition, insight, and community. More details here.
Lunar New Year at Seaport Museum
- Time: Sunday, February 15 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Location: 12 Fulton Street, New York, NY
- Tickets: Book free general admission and lion dance.
Enjoy a joyful, family-friendly afternoon across the Seaport, with hands-on activities and arts and crafts. Watch lion dancers perform aboard the 1885 tall ship Wavertree, parade through Fulton Street, and conclude with an energetic performance on Water Street. More details here.
“The Sound of Spring” Chinese New Year Concert
- Time: Sunday, February 15 from 3 to 5 p.m.
- Location: 10 Columbus Circle, 5th Floor, New York, NY
- Tickets: $25 to $100. Get tickets here.
Now in its 7th year, The Sound of Spring Chinese New Year Concert is a cherished tradition celebrating the Lunar New Year through Chinese and Western symphonic music. Led by conductor Jindong Cai, The Orchestra Now presents a joyful program inspired by love and horses, featuring virtuoso soloists and acclaimed young musicians from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and Bard College’s US–China Music Institute.
Arrive early at 2 p.m. for Chinese instrument demonstrations and Lunar New Year activities. More details here.
MOCAKIDS: LNY Dumpling Extravaganza
- Time: Tuesday, February 17 from 1 to 3 p.m.
- Location: Museum of Chinese in America (215 Centre St, New York, NY)
- Tickets: $8 per person ages 5 and over. Free for MOCA Family Level Members. Get tickets here.
MOCA invites families to celebrate Lunar New Year through one of its most beloved traditions — dumplings. In this hands-on cooking experience, kids and caregivers will learn how to fold and cook vegetable-filled dumplings while exploring the symbolism of unity, luck, and prosperity. More details here.
Year of the Horse Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival
- Time: Tuesday, February 17 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Location: Sara D. Roosevelt Park (Chrystie St. and Forsyth St., New York, NY)
- Tickets: Free
This event is a beloved outdoor celebration marking the official start of the Lunar New Year in Manhattan’s Chinatown. It opens with the traditional firecracker ceremony — meant to drive away bad luck and welcome prosperity — followed by energetic lion and dragon dances, folk dance performances, martial arts demonstrations, and live cultural presentations throughout the day. More details here.
China Institute Lunar New Year Family Festival
- Time: Saturday, February 21, 2026 from 2 to 5 p.m.
- Location: China Institute of America (100 Washington St., New York, NY)
- Tickets: $18 for general admission. $6 for ages 12 and under. Get tickets here.
This is an engaging, all-ages celebration co-organized with the Shanghai Museum. Highlights include a lion dance, live traditional music as well as hands-on workshops, crafts and Yuan Bao Tea tasting — offering families an immersive introduction to Chinese art and Lunar New Year traditions. More details here.
Asia Society Moon Over Manhattan: Lunar New Year Family Day 2026
- Time: Saturday, February 21 from 1-4 PM.
- Location: Asia Society New York (725 Park Avenue, New York, NY)
- Tickets: Members tickets $15. General tickets $20. Children’s ticket $10. Get tickets here.
This event is designed for all ages. Highlights include lion dances and martial arts demonstrations, an interactive sing-along concert with Elena Moon Park and friends, shadow puppet demonstrations, and hands-on arts and crafts. More details here.
MOCA Lunar New Year Family Festival
- Time: Saturday, February 21, 2026. Morning session from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and afternoon session from 2 to 5 p.m.
- Location: Museum of Chinese in America (215 Centre St., New York, NY)
- Tickets: $10 per person. Get tickets here.
This is a lively, all-ages celebration filled with performances, hands-on workshops and festive food. Families can experience a lion dance performance, live erhu music, interactive dance workshops, hands-on crafts, traditional foods, storytimes, and gallery activities inspired by Lunar New Year traditions. More details here.
Lincoln Center Lunar New Year Celebration
- Time: Sunday, February 22 starting at 11 a.m.
- Location: Lincoln Center David Geffen Hall (10 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY)
- Tickets: Free. First-come first-served.
This is an all-day, free, drop-in festival featuring live performances, hands-on activities and festive food. Highlights include a lion dance, traditional Korean music, family-friendly story time, and interactive arts and crafts presented with the Shanghai Museum. More details here.
Lunar New Year Altar-Making at the Tenement Museum
- Time: Monday, February 23 from 6 to 8 p.m.
- Location: Tenement Museum (103 Orchard Street New York, NY)
- Tickets: $25 for general tickets. $15 for members. Get tickets here.
Join the Tenement Museum and Think!Chinatown for a special workshop on altar making. You’ll hear about the elements of altars and altar making, see the newly installed altar in the Museum’s garment factory exhibit, and make your own offering with artist Alison Kuo. More details here.
New York Philharmonic Lunar New Year Gala
- Time: Wednesday, February 25 starting at 7 p.m.
- Location: Lincoln Center David Geffen Hall (10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY)
- Tickets: From $62. Get tickets here
Welcome the Year of the Horse with the New York Philharmonic in a festive Lunar New Year program led by conductor Long Yu. The evening features a dynamic blend of East and West, including selections from Elliot Leung’s Chinese Kitchen, traditional works showcasing the Mongolian morin khuur performed by Hasibagen, and operatic highlights by soprano Kathleen Kim and baritone Changyoung Liao. Blending virtuosic orchestral music, global traditions, and celebratory spirit, the concert offers a vibrant start to the Lunar New Year. More details here.
Super Saturday Lion-dancing Celebration
- Time: Saturday, February 28, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Location: Manhattan Chinatown
- Tickets: Free
Super Saturday is a Lunar New Year tradition unique to New York City’s Chinatown, dating back to the 1960s. On this day, more than 20 lion and dragon dance troupes parade through the neighborhood, stopping to bless local businesses with wishes of luck and prosperity. With thunderous drums, clashing cymbals, dazzling costumes, and layers of confetti covering the streets, the event draws large crowds and creates an energetic celebration and is one of the most exciting ways to experience Lunar New Year traditions in the city. More details here.
New York City Lunar New Year Parade & Festival
- Time: Sunday, March 1 from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
- Location: Bayard Street between Mulberry and Mott St., New York, NY
- Tickets: Free
Featuring vibrant lion and dragon dances, rhythmic drumming, cultural performances, and neighborhood organizations, the parade honors Lunar New Year traditions passed down through generations of immigrant families. As crowds gather in Chinatown along Mott and Canal Streets, the festival becomes a shared moment of celebration — welcoming luck, renewal, and togetherness in one of New York City’s most iconic neighborhoods. More details here.
Think!Chinatown Mahjong Party
- Time: Sunday, March 1 from 2 to 6 p.m.
- Location: 1 Pike Street, New York, NY
- Tickets: Free. RSVP here.
Celebrate Lunar New Year with a classic gathering by joining a friendly Mahjong meet up for players of all levels. Beginners can learn or refresh their skills at coached tables, while experienced players can jump into open play, all in a social, low-pressure setting with neighbors and friends. Tables rotate every 30 minutes and are first-come, first-served, with RSVP priority and limited walk-in availability. Click here for more Lunar New Year series events from Think!Chinatown.
Lunar New Year at the NYPL in Manhattan
Throughout February, children, teens, and families can enjoy Lunar New Year–themed storytimes, crafts, process art workshops, dumpling parties, book celebrations, and sensory play sessions inspired by the Year of the Horse at the New York Public Library. Programs also include teen arts and crafts, movie screenings, STEAM activities, and hands-on cultural workshops, offering engaging ways to explore Lunar New Year traditions through reading, art, food, and play across Manhattan.
Brooklyn Lunar New Year Events
Brooklyn Museum Lunar New Year Celebration
- Time: Sunday, February 15 from 12 to 4 p.m.
- Location: Brooklyn Museum (200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY)
- Tickets: Free with Museum admission.
The event features exciting lion dance performances, interactive art-making workshops — including clay modeling, paper lantern design, and horse-themed crafts inspired by works in the museum’s collection—and pop-up gallery talks in English and Mandarin. More details here.
Brooklyn Lunar New Year Festival
- Time: Friday, February 20 starting at 11 a.m.
- Location: 8th Ave. from 50th St. to 60th St., Brooklyn, NY (with main stage at 51st St.)
- Tickets: Free
As a major hub for Fujianese immigrants in New York City, 8th Ave. is the site of Lunar New Year celebrations deeply rooted in Minnan traditions, featuring auspicious rituals, folk performances, festive music, and symbolic displays. Organized by grassroots community groups, these vibrant, street-level festivities offer one of the city’s most immersive Lunar New Year experiences — full of warmth, noise, energy, and the bustling spirit of a traditional Chinese New Year street festival.
City Point Lunar New Year 2026 Celebration
- Time: Saturday, February 21 from 1 to 4 p.m.
- Location: Albee Square West and Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY
- Tickets: Free General Admission
Enjoy traditional lion dance performances bringing good fortune for the year ahead, alongside music sets at the plaza at Albee Square. More details here.
Queens Lunar New Year Events
Flushing Town Hall Lunar New Year Exhibition: Red Horizon
- Time: Going on until March 1. The gallery is open to the public from 12 to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Friday.
- Location: Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd., Queens, NY)
- Tickets: Exhibition is free. Click here for tickets to the Horse Painting workshop on February 21.
Red Horizon: Art. Heritage. New Energy is a group exhibition featuring contemporary works by artists of Asian descent that explore renewal, movement, and cultural continuity in the Year of the Red Horse. Presented alongside a hands-on painting workshop and a closing reception with an artist talk, the exhibition invites audiences to reflect on Lunar New Year traditions through art, community, and new beginnings. More details here.
Lunar New Year with Glow Cultural Center in Flushing
- Time: Sunday, February 15 starting at 11 a.m.
- Location: Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Boulevard, Queens, NY）
- Tickets: Free to $5. Get tickets here.
Celebrate Lunar New Year with Glow Cultural Center at Flushing Town Hall with a festive parade, cultural fair, and live performances. Enjoy free activities including cultural booths, music, and giveaways. A $5 ticket gains access to the day’s lion dance, Chinese acrobatics, hands-on workshops, traditional foods, and other family-friendly activities.
NYRR Lunar New Year Runs
New York Road Runners Open Run invites runners and walkers of all levels to celebrate the Lunar New Year through movement, community, and fresh starts. Designed to be inclusive and welcoming, the runs provide a joyful, healthy way to network, gather, and welcome the Year of the Horse together. More details here.
Times and locations:
- Saturday, February 14, starting at 9 a.m. – Highland Park. Free registration.
- Saturday, February 21, starting at 9 a.m. – Crocheron Park. Free registration.
- Sunday, February 22, starting at 9 a.m. – Cunningham Park. Free registration.
Flushing Lunar New Year Parade
- Time: Saturday, February 21 starting at 11 a.m.
- Location: Union St. & 37th Ave., Queens, NY
- Tickets: Free
Unlike the Manhattan Chinatown parade, Flushing’s celebration reflects a broader mix of regional traditions and languages, shaped by Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Southeast Asian, and other Asian diasporas that define the neighborhood today. The parade features lion and dragon dances, marching groups, and community organizations moving through wide commercial streets, drawing a largely local crowd and creating a more neighborhood-driven, family-oriented atmosphere — often paired with unbeatable food and bustling street life unique to Flushing. More details here.
Queens Center Mall Lunar New Year Celebration
- Time: Saturday, February 21 from 1 to 3 p.m.
- Location: 90-15 Queens Blvd., Queens, NY
- Tickets: Free.
Experience the vibrant energy of Chinese lion dancers and enjoy fun crafts for all ages. More details here.
Queens Botanical Garden Lunar New Year Celebration
- Time: Saturday, February 21 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
- Location: 43-50 Main Street, Queens, NY
- Tickets: Free General Admission
Enjoy a lion dance, cultural performances, arts and crafts and a vendors fair. Food and drinks will be available. More details here.
Bronx Lunar New Year Events
Lunar New Year at the NYPL in the Bronx
The New York Public Library celebrates Lunar New Year across the Bronx with a lineup of creative, youth-focused programs. Teens and young adults can craft fortune cookies, paint symbolic lotus flowers, and make paper lanterns while learning about Lunar New Year traditions, the Chinese Zodiac, and the Year of the Fire Horse. Younger children are invited to hands-on cultural craft workshops exploring global Lunar New Year traditions, offering fun, educational ways to celebrate creativity, heritage, and new beginnings.
Lunar New Year at Hostos Center
- Time: Sunday, February 8 starting at 3 p.m.
- Location: 450 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York
- Tickets: $15 general tickets. $12 seniors. $5 students and children. Get tickets here.
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with a high-energy, family-friendly performance by the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, featuring Chinese dance, dynamic live music inspired by the spirit of the Horse. More details here.
Staten Island Lunar New Year Events
Snug Harbor Cultural Center
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- Time: Saturday, February 21, 2026, 12-3 PM
- Location: 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY 10301
- Tickets: $15. Free for children 4 and under. Get tickets here.
Enjoy live performances, traditional crafts, stories, and hands-on cultural activities honoring the Year of the Horse. More details here.
Lunar New Year at the NYPL in Staten Island
The New York Public Library celebrates Lunar New Year across Staten Island with a series of free, community-centered programs for all ages. Events include DIY red envelope crafts for teens, Lunar New Year storytimes and games for children and families, a Year of the Horse–inspired string art workshop for adults, and drop-in lucky money envelope crafts for kids.
