Lunar New Year

The Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) announced today that it will host a Lunar New Year celebration on January 20 and will combine the traditional celebration of Asian heritage with a rally at Federal Hall in New York City to combat anti-Asian hate.

 

AABDC has led the Lunar New Year celebrations since 2000 in New York City and delighted the Asian American community by having the Empire State building lit up in red and gold, the auspicious color for the new year. The 2023 Lunar New Year is the Year of the Rabbit, signifying patience and luck. 

 

“Fans of our past Lunar New Year events will get to enjoy again the cultural performances, community recognitions, and hospitality that AABDC has become known for,” said John Wang, founder and president of AABDC. “We also wanted to strike a more serious note amidst the celebrations, to draw attention to the anti-Asian violence, bias and harassment that still afflicts members of the Asian American community since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

 

In addition to the Lunar New Year celebration reception at Federal Hall National Memorial, the site where the First Congress met and George Washington was inaugurated, on January 20, there will be addresses by Frank Wu, President of Queens College; Kathy Wyle, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, and the Honorable Governor Kathy Hochul of New York State was invited. Also joining the event are community groups The Asian American Foundation (taaf.org), They Can’t Burn Us all Inc.(tcbua.org)  Make Us Visible.(makeusvisible.org), Chinatown Partnership(chinatownpartnership.org), Chinese American Arts Council (caacarts.org) and Admerasia (admerasia.com).