Celebrate the Lunar New Year in Sunset Park

Get ready for the Year of the Goat!

Sunset Park is gearing up to celebrate the Lunar Year with its annual Eighth Avenue parade, a tradition that has continued in the Southwest Brooklyn neighborhood for the past 28 years.

“It’s a celebration of the culture of a very large portion of the community,” said Jeremy Laufer, district manager of Community Board 7, which represents the neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Windsor Terrace, East Windsor Terrace, South Park Slope and Greenwood Heights. “We always love our cultural celebrations in the community. These events have always been extremely popular, not just in the Asian community but in the rest of the community as well.”

The celebration is said to have “successfully marked a turning point for Sunset Park” on the Brooklyn Chinese American Association’s website, the community organization that organizes the parade.

The media attention after the parade brought “focus to the growing Asian-American community in Brooklyn,” according to BCAA. “There was a growth in business and in the Asian population in Sunset Park and surrounding neighborhoods.”

The parade will take place on February 22 beginning at noon at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue. Among the day’s festivities are firecracker displays, line dancing, Kung Fu demonstrations, and various performances, beginning at 10 a.m.

In addition, the Chinese-American Planning Council is hosting a celebration at P.S. 310, 942 62nd Street on Saturday, February 21. The festivities run from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. This family-oriented event will also feature lion dance performances, martial arts, games, and writing and costume contests for the kids. For more information, visit www.cpc-nyc.org.

Additional reporting contributed by Jaime Dejesus.

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