Sunset store marks Lunar New Year with cooking demo, parade

Celebrating the Year of the Pig in Sunset Park.

On Sat., Feb. 2, Beyond at Liberty View, 850 Third Avenue, hosted its second Lunar New Year Celebration at which James Beard Award-winning author Grace Young showed how to make her famous Stir Fry Noodles as well as providing the history of the holiday for young attendees.

Then, later in the afternoon, the Wan Chi Ming Dragon Dance Team wowed attendees with a dramatic performance, kicking off an eye-catching Lunar New Year parade that spanned all around the shopping center.

Bari Fagan, the director of brand integration, video and promotions for Bed Bath & Beyond, declared this year’s celebration another success.

“This was the second year that we held a Lunar New Year celebration and I think that the combination of the cooking demonstration and parade was a win-win for all ages,” she said. “We were excited. We had a full house for the cooking demonstration at 3 p.m. and then we had additional children join us at 4 p.m. for the Lunar New Year parade within our building.”

What made the cooking demo even more special was the dose of history served up with the recipe.

“The cooking demonstration was exceptional this year because Grace Young gave a tremendous amount of history. She shared her knowledge about Lunar New Year and the importance of good luck food and what different foods meant, and explained the Year of the Pig so it was not really just a cooking demonstration,” Fagan stressed. “It was also wonderful history that had everything to do with the new year. That was an extra treat. The audience seemed very intrigued with what she was telling them.”

The parade also brought excitement.

“It really is so much fun,” she said. “The kids thought it was great. Everybody was following, between the drums and the two lions dancing. And we did the parade through all of our stores, so it really touched everybody.”

However, she stressed, one of the most significant aspects of the day was the diversity of the attendees.

“We are very proud of doing these events that reach out to the unique and diverse communities of Brooklyn and specifically Sunset Park,” Fagan said. “It’s not just our Asian neighbors. It was all different nationalities, and different kinds of people and their kids, to enjoy the day. I thought that was great. We are thrilled to have the Asian community join us to celebrate Lunar New Year and that we can offer this to them and also everyone else who may not normally get to celebrate the holiday was great. It was a full afternoon of culture and fun.”

Beyond is looking forward to bringing the event back again next year.