The Museum
Lantern Festival 2012
A signature event for CAM and now a beloved community tradition, CAM’s annual Lantern Festival celebration offers Chinese New Year fanfare with free entertainment and interactive cultural activities for people of diverse backgrounds and ages to enjoy.
Each year, Lantern Festival spotlights a Chinese American re-creation of a traditional village street fair featuring brilliant lantern displays, exciting musical, acrobatic and lion dance performances, enriching arts and crafts booths, and to cap off the evening,and to cap off the evening, a spirited glow-in-the-dark silver dragon stage performance to delight our senses! Event-goers can try their hand at lantern-making, Chinese-opera style face painting, kite-building, Chinese paper-cutting, Origami, Chinese calligraphy, string-knotting, and much more! New program features are added to the event each year to keep the festival fresh and exciting for new and returning visitors.
A hugely popular holiday in the Chinese culture, Lantern Festival occurs annually on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month to mark the closing of Chinese New Year festivities. As families wish for peace and prosperity for the coming year, colorful lanterns are hung in homes and throughout the streets to celebrate this jubilant occasion. CAM’s Lantern Festival series represents a departure from most other street event celebration because the primary focus is on education rather than just entertainment. The event’s program strives to present the visiting public with a unique and interactive opportunity to learn and appreciate the history, traditions and customs of this Chinese holiday.
CAM’s11th Annual Lantern Festival celebration will take place on Saturday, March 3, 2012, 12-7 PM. Free admission!
MAIN STAGE PERFORMANCES
12pm - Opening Ceremony
12:45pm - Changing-faces illusion and Tea Pot Balancing Act
1pm - Chinese Folk Dances
1:15pm - Magic Show
1:30pm - God of Fortune
1:45pm - Martial Arts
2pm - Line Dances and Tai Chi Fan Dancing
2:15pm - Chinese Flute, Hula & Balancing Act
2:30pm - Chinese Acrobatics
2:45pm - Magic Show
3pm - Ballroom Dances
3:15pm - Balancing Acrobatics
3:30pm - Drums & Dances
3:45pm - Monkey King
4pm - Chinese Folk Dances
4:15pm - Chinese Traditional Music
4:30pm - Magic Show
4:45pm - Chinese Folk Dances
5pm - Lion Dancing
5:15pm - Martial Arts
5:30pm - Lion Dancing
6pm - Shadow Puppets
7pm - Silver Dragon
DON'T MISS OUT ON THESE SPECIALS!
• 15% discount on merchandise and gift shop purchases
• Build Your Dream Home workshop, inspired by CAM's newest exhibit, Breaking Ground: Chinese American Architects in Los Angeles (1945-1980)
• Oliver Chin's Year of the Dragon children's books, event t-shirts, totes and fun holiday gifts for sale
• Portraits of Pride II literary program, presented by The Chinese Historical Society of Southern California
• Lucky Feast exhibition of a traditional Chinese New Year dinner table
• Year of the Dragon-inspired workshops
• Food Trucks (List TBA)
• Extended museum hours until 7pm and much more!
LANTERN FESTIVAL 2012 IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY:
• Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
• Southern California Gas Company
• Cathay Bank
• The Friends of the Chinese American Museum
• El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument
• Portraits of Pride II - Literary Program