Lunar New Year at Oakland Museum, Feb. 18, 2007

Anh-Vu, Hong-Bao and I went with Gillian to the Lunar New Year festival in Oakland. The program was hosted by the Oakland Museum of California. Hundreds of people came to enjoy this gorgeous winter Sunday with lots of sunshine and beautiful smiles.



We wished one another good health, prosperity, and happiness in the year of the pig or boar.



We bought a Chinese and Thai lunch there. The food was okay.





The Koi pond in front of the museum.



Long tables for making Lee See-Lucky Red Envelope.



Wrapping and cooking Wonton table with Rhoda Wing.



Korean 3-D Origami table with Young Jin Yu. The fold is easy to make and very small; you have to make hundreds of the same fold and insert them together to make one object. It is beautiful and requires a lot of patience.


















Mochi Pounding Ceremony by Kagami Kai. The Japanese sticky rice cake pounding brings families and community together on this New Year's Day.









Dan Chan the Magic Man.



The Hei Gu Chinese Percussion Ensemble.

We really had a good time, but had to leave early for a family swim at YMCA. Too bad that we missed the Lion Dance, Vietnamese Traditional Dance, Cambodian Classical Dance, Somei Yoshino Taiko Ensemble, Red Panda Acrobats and many more.

Chuc Mung Nam Moi! (Vietnamese) Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Chinese-Mandarin-Good fortune for the New Year) Gung Hei Fat Choy! (Chinese-Cantonese) Say Hay Boke Mahn He Pah Du Say Yo! (Korean-Please receive many New Year's blessings) Happy Lunar New Year!