The Penn Museum presents its 31st annual Chinese New Year Celebration on Saturday, February 4, 2012, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The day features music and dance performances, martial arts demonstrations, workshops, children’s activities, and a grand finale lion dance. The celebration is free with Museum admission donation ($10 general admission; $7 senior citizens [65+] and military personnel; $6 students [with ID] and children [6 to 17]; free for children under 6, members, and PennCard holders).
Special presentations introduce the sights, sounds, and wonder of China, with colorful dance performances highlighting the day. The eight-member Penn Chinese Dance Club kicks off the festivities with four electrifying dance sequences accenting the ethnically diverse styles of Chinese dance. At 12:00 pm, the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Lions conduct a Lion Dance workshop where attendees learn the joyful movements of the lion to the sound of the beating drum in this thousand-year-old dance. The 4- to 14-year-old girls of the MeiMei Dance Troupe entertain audiences with a patchwork of dances about legendary Chinese folk tales at 1:00 pm. At 2:00 pm, the University of Pennsylvania’s Pan Asian Dance Troupe performs two engaging routines from China’s long and prominent dance culture, including folk and modern Chinese, Tibetan, and Mongolian. At the 3:45 pm finale, lion dancers and drummers from Cheung’s Academy wind their way from Harrison Auditorium to the Warden Garden with a traditional lion dance to chase away evil and usher in a year of good luck.
China’s rich musical legacy spans 7,000 years. Qin Qian and Kurt Jung take visitors through a condensed history of traditional and modern music performing on instruments such as the erhu (Chinese two-string fiddle) and the yangchin (Chinese hammered dulcimer). Qin Qian is a well-known erhu performer from Nanning, China, and Kurt Jung is a local Chinese and Western music performer. Both teach Chinese music in the Philadelphia area and have published music books. The duo will demonstrate and discuss the differences and similarities between Chinese and Western music at 11:30 am and 2:00 pm.
Guests can witness traditional Chinese martial arts styles—from the slow-moving techniques of Tai Chi to the explosive power of Kung Fu fighting. At 1:00 pm, visitors discover how Tai Chi can help conquer today’s modern anxieties through a demonstration and a workshop with Master John Chen, of the Ba’Z Tai Chi & Kung Fu Studio. Then at 3:15 pm, 15 members of Cheung’s Hung Gar Kung Fu Academy offer an adrenaline-charged Kung Fu demonstration in the Harrison Auditorium.
A full lineup of presentations and drop-in workshops are ongoing throughout the day. Chinese for Families students offer great activities to celebrate the New Year including Chinese archaeology trivia for kids and adults, celebratory live-performance skits and puppet shows, an interactive Chinese language lesson, and a performance of songs from Chinese folklore, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. Students return at 1:00 pm to host a craft workshop where children can make paper dragons. Also, guests can experience the beauty of Chinese calligraphy. Onlei Annie Jung, a Calligraphy and Chinese painting instructor at the Perkins Center for the Arts, teaches visitors basic brush strokes for writing Chinese Characters and painting at a drop-in workshop held from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. She will also hold a workshop on the tangram, an ancient Chinese puzzle game, from 2:00 to 3:30 pm.
Activities for children and families abound in the Museum’s Chinese Rotunda at the Chinese Art Marketplace, from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm. Visitors can experience demonstrations by area artists, including paper cutting and Chinese calligraphy; learn more about Chinese New Year traditions, including Chinese zodiac and its legend and how the New Year is celebrated in China; and see the Museum’s famous 19th century crystal ball–believed to have been owned by the last Dowager Empress, a Chinese ruler in the late 1800s.
The Museum’s two shops, the Museum Shop and the Pyramid Shop for Children, offer special Chinese arts, crafts, games, and books. The Pepper Mill Café features Chinese lunch entrees and kid-friendly foods.
In China, the New Year celebration begins on January 23, 2012 and can last until February 6, 2012. It is one of the most important, and longest, festivals in China.
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is dedicated to the study and understanding of human history and diversity. Founded in 1887, the Museum has sent more than 400 archaeological and anthropological expeditions to all the inhabited continents of the world. With an active exhibition schedule and educational programming for children and adults, the Museum offers the public an opportunity to share in the ongoing discovery of humankind’s collective heritage.
Penn Museum is located at 3260 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (on Penn’s campus, across from Franklin Field). Public transportation to the Museum is available via SEPTA’s Regional Rail Line at University City Station; the Market-Frankford Subway Line at 34th Street Station; trolley routes 11, 13, 34 and 36; and bus routes 12, 21, 30, 40 and 42. Museum hours are Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Wednesday, 10:00 am to 8:00 pm, with P.M. @ PENN MUSEUM evening programs offered weekly. Closed Mondays and holidays. Admission donation is $10 for adults; $7 for senior citizens (65 and above) and military personnel; $6 children (6 to 17) and full-time students with ID; free to Members, PennCard holders, and children 5 and younger; “pay-what-you-want” the last hour before closing. Hot and cold meals and light refreshments are available to visitors with or without Museum admission in The Pepper Mill Café; the Museum Shop and Pyramid Shop for Children offer a wide selection of gifts, books, games, clothing, and jewelry. Penn Museum can be found on the web at www.penn.museum. For general information call (215) 898-4000. For group tour information call (215) 746-8183.