Lunar New Year Festival February 5, 2011

Visitors of all ages are invited to The Metropolitan Museum of Art on to enjoy a day-long Lunar New Year Festival celebrating Chinese arts and culture. The Museum will ring in the Year of the Rabbit with interactive programs, art-making workshops, and lively performances. The festival begins with family programs, including a performance by Sesame Street's Alan Muraoka and friends at 11 a.m. in the Carson Family Hall and storytime in the Nolen Library at 11:45 a.m. Afternoon programs begin with a dramatic lion dance procession up the Museum's front steps and into the building at 12:15 p.m., followed by calligraphy and face painting workshops at 1 p.m.; a youth orchestra performing on traditional Chinese instruments at 1:30 p.m.; a Chinese tea ceremony at 2:15 p.m.; and fan and ribbon dances at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. .