Lunar New Year Festival (LNYF) is a student-run organization at WashU and the annual performance scheduled for this weekend Feb. 10-11, celebrates the Lunar New Year and promotes the awareness of different facets of Asian culture. The Friday and Saturday night performances at Edison Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Center, are sold out, but tickets ($10), remain for the Saturday, Feb. 11 show at 2p.m., link here to order tickets.
LNYF chooses a different philanthropy to support “to not only impact the WashU community, but the St. Louis community as well.” This year, performances will benefit: Beyond Housing.
The festival features a wide variety of performances from acting to dancing to martial arts, showcasing various facets of Asian culture. Kevin Wu, is a member of the all-student production and choreographer of the Yoyo team. The Chinese yoyo is more than a performance art according to Wu, it’s a sport that requires running, jumping, flips, and other acrobatic manoeuvers to keep the “diabolo” cones of the yoyo spinning and flying through the air from one performer to another. Watch the video, it’s amazing!!
Video produced by Washington University Public Affairs
The biggest event of Chinese New Year’s Eve is the dinner every family will have. Families will have reunions just as people do on Thanksgiving in the U.S. At midnight, fireworks and firecrackers will light up the whole sky, which according to tradition is to scare away evil spirits. The burning of firecrackers also signifies a joyful time of year and has become an integral aspect of Chinese New Year celebrations.
