By J. MARIE FIEGER & MEGAN BENEDICT
This Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, January 18. 2020 was a free public event featuring live music, a traditional Chinese Lion dance by Ha-Family Entertainment, Chinese Heritage Foundation activities, a free kid”™s craft table making dragons, specially staged, decorative photographs and performance by the Minnesota Chinese Opera.
The Lunar New Year is the largest and most important holiday in Chinese culture. During this 15-day celebration, families and friends unite to decorate their homes, watch fireworks and spend time together.
In the Chinese Zodiac, 2020 is the Year of the Rat. Those born in the Year of the Rat are said to be instinctive, alert in nature, sophisticated and filled with spirit, wit, vitality and flexibility.
Trung Pham and his family, owners of Pham”™s Rice Bowl at the Midtown Global Market, were sponsors of this annual community event.
As the Ha Family Chinese Dragon danced its way through the aisles of Midtown Global Market some shoppers had their names written in Chinese and heard their fortunes while they and others were enjoying a performance by the Minnesota Chinese Opera on the Midtown stage. Some children also chose dragon-making and many had family photos taken within an elaborate picture frame to help remember the kick-off to this festive fifteen-day holiday.
