Kung Hee Fat Choy Maui Style! 12th Annual Chinese New Year Festival

Chinese Lion Dance, file photo by Wendy Osher.

The Twelfth Annual Maui Chinese New Year Festival, sponsored in part by the County of Maui, takes place this Saturday, February 05, 2011, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Maui Mall in Kahului.

The event features Chinese food booths, arts and crafts, calligraphy, leather brush artistry, and local produce.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa will kick off festivities, followed by Lion Dancers, a firecracker blessing, and cultural demonstrations. The festivities will be repeated at 1:30 p.m. before the close of the festival, weather permitting.

Other event festivities include a Keiki Chinese Costume Contest for boys and girls 12 and under. Demonstrations include Tai Chi, Kung Fu, Chinese cooking, and Chinese dancing. There will also be Good Luck photos for the kids, Rabbit crafts, and a Children’s Art Contest exhibit.

Year of the Rabbit:

The Year of the Rabbit, 4709 on the Chinese Lunar calendar, begins with the new moon between Wednesday and Thursday, February 2 and 3, 2011. The year of the Rabbit is expected to be one of tranquility and harmony, in preparation of events associated with the hectic year of the Dragon that follows. The Rabbit is considered a symbol of longevity and endurance. Other Rabbit Years include 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, and 1999.

(Posted by Wendy Osher; supporting information courtesy County of Maui)