Where to Celebrate Lunar New Year

2022 ushers out the year of the Ox and introduces the year of the Tiger, meaning that this next year will be full of fun ambitions, enthusiasm and generosity! Why not step into these new notions with a bit of local celebration? You and your family might be busy bees, but never fear! The Lunar New Year is celebrated for an entire week, meaning there is more than enough time for you and the kiddos to get out into the community and experience the festivities. Scroll down for 2022’s selection of Portland Lunar New Year celebrations!

Lan Su Chinese Garden

While some celebrations of the Lunar New Year span only 7 days, the Lan Su Chinese Garden celebrates the Chinese New Year for two whole weeks! That’s more than enough time to wrangle the kids into their winter gear and step out for the Pacific Northwest’s largest Lunar New Year celebration! Think lanterns and light displays, a dancing dragon and percussion sounds galore! This year’s festival will be featuring the Portland Lee’s Association Dragon & Lion Dance, putting on the dancing dragon march for the first time in years! Be sure to mitten up those hands and slip on warm socks before heading over to enjoy a night of illumination and celebration! 

Where: 239 NW Everett St., Portland OR 
When: Feb. 3 – 13,  6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Cost Per Person: $35 (Members), $45 (General), $15 (Children 3-11y.o.)
Online: here

Keller Auditorium’s Lunar New Year Celebration

What gets your kids excited? Live performances? Crafts? Checking out visual art? Come celebrate the Lunar New Year at Keller Auditorium, as it has all three! Chinese Friendship Association of Portland [CFAP] is a local non-profit that is hosting this year’s Lunar New Year’s celebration, and it is sure to be a blast. Performances range from astounding acrobatic displays by a two-time Guinness World Record holder to a production by the Oregon International Ballet Academy. Kids can dig in to the various activities at the arts & crafts workshops by trying their hand at calligraphy or have their portrait drawn by local artists! Come prepared to be awed by this year’s events celebrating the Year of the Tiger.

Where: 1111 SW Broadway
When: Jan 29, 5 – 9 p.m.
Cost: Varied ; $20-$50 
Online: here

Lunar New Year & Black History Month

Celebration doesn’t have to be exclusive. In fact, celebration tends to lean into inclusivity! So bring your loved ones to an event that creates space for more than one thing by participating in this year’s collaborative event. Collective Oregon Eateries, or CORE, is hosting an event to appreciate the beauty of our Portland community. In partnership with organizations like 100 Chopsticks and Linneas Boland-Godbey, CORE is unifying the traditions of the Lunar New Year with those of Black History Month! There will various vendors and artists at this trade show, and if you or your family would like to be involved, they’re still looking for volunteers! Check out their website for more details on how to be involved, but do make sure to make space in your calendar to stop by.

Where: 3612 SE 82nd Ave
When: Feb 25, 12 p.m.; 26, 8 p.m.
Cost: Free 
Online: Here

Chin’s Kitchen

Need a recommendation of how to appreciate the taste of the Lunar New Year? Look no further than Chin’s Kitchen in Portland’s Hollywood district! Owner Wendy Li takes us back to her own childhood by serving her customers with her favorite dish from way-back-when: handmade dumplings. Whether your kids are a fan of pork or egg, or they tend towards the adventurous and want to try shrimp or Chinese sauerkraut, Chin’s Kitchen has them covered. Head to NE Broadway to experience what brought Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives show to this restaurant in October of 2020!

Where: 4126 NE Broadway
Phone: (503) 281-1203
Hours: 
Tue – Sun: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. & 4 -8:00PM
Online at: chinskitchenpdx.com

Mama Dút Foods

Perhaps Chin’s Kitchen didn’t quite work during the family brainstorm of where to eat and relax before or after your New Year events. Don’t fret, we have another suggestion. Thuy Pham of Mama Dút Foods builds his Lunar New Year menu around two things he’d call staples: bánh tét and bánh xèo. Bánh tèt are rice dumplings filled with juicy, warm park belly and mung bean, hugged in banana leaves – holy cow, right? Bánh xèo are rice crepes, also filled with pork belly or shrimp as well as some fresh herbs. Is your mouth watering yet? Mama Dút is also serving vegan options of both, with options like jackfruit or chanterelle mushrooms. So quick, before anyone can object, stuff the family in the car and go get in line for one of these incredible Lunar New Year meal options!

Where: 1414 SE Morrison St.,
Hours:
Mon 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Thur – Sat: 12 – 8 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.
Online: mamadut.com

— Hannah Judge

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