The Year of the Dog was kicked off at Beyond at Liberty View, 850 Third Avenue, which, for the first time, held a Lunar New Year celebration.
The event, held on Saturday, February 17, was chock full of fun for attendees of all ages, featuring dancing, cooking, music and eating.
“We were thrilled to be able to celebrate Lunar New Year with all of our neighbors in Sunset Park with three fantastic events,” said Director of Brand Integration at Beyond Bari Fagin. “We started off the day with a family singalong with Yellow Sneaker including some songs about dogs that the children enjoyed to celebrate the Year of the Dog.”
Then, it was time to eat and learn how to cook delicious Asian delicacies.
“In the afternoon, chef Stephen Yen give us a wonderful demonstration of how to make his famous dumplings and not only were they delicious but the audience learned all the tricks from a great chef of how to fold a dumpling, make the filling and use a bamboo steamer,” Fagin added. “Then we finished the day with our Lunar New Year Parade and our Lion Dance.”
The lion dance proceeded through all of the stores. Parents and their children joined the parade which wended its way through all the stores in the complex.”
The performance, said Fagin, included a 10-minute dance where the lion stood on top of a big stool and threw out confetti.”
Celebrating the holiday was important for Beyond.
“Our goal that day was to have an enjoyable experience for young and old, parents and children, people who celebrate Lunar New Year and people who just wanted to join the celebration,”Fagin explained. “We think the day went great for everyone that participated. At the end of the parade, everyone said how much fun they had. This is our first one and we hope we started a tradition for years to come.”
To watch Yen’s demo and learn his recipes, visit www.bedbathandbeyond.com/brooklyn.