Chinese New Year Celebration at County Building, Feb. 3

Chinese New Year celebration. File photo courtesy County of Maui.

Master Ben Seng Au and his Shaolin Arts Academy will again bring their cultural extravaganza to the County Building in celebration of Chinese New Year.

The public is invited to attend this free event, with festivities beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, 2017 on the front lawn of the County Building.

Firecrackers will open the event, followed by a martial arts exhibition and lion dancers. The lion dance performance will feature elaborate traditional costumes, drums, cymbals and other Chinese percussion instruments.

Red “li-shi” envelopes will be available at the event to “feed” the lions in the hopes of obtaining good luck during the new year.

This coming Chinese year is the year of the Yin Fire Rooster, year 4715 on the Chinese Lunar calendar. Other Rooster years are 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993 and 2005.