25th Annual Lunar New Year at OMCA: Year of the Horse
February 21 @ 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Gallop into the Year of the Horse this February as we mark the 25th anniversary of OMCA’s Annual Lunar New Year Celebration! Guests can expect a full day of vibrant performances, family-friendly storytelling, hands-on activities, delicious food from local AAPI chefs, and opportunities to support AAPI artisans, all while basking in community connection.
As we come together to uplift AAPI communities across the Bay Area, the Museum is excited to welcome Oakland’s one-and-only seiji oda to the Garden Stage. Their signature ambient and mindful lofi-hyphy sound will fill the garden alongside several other performances spanning Korean, Pilipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese traditions. From wishing trees and zodiac quests to K-pop dance lessons and Gallery Chats, this milestone celebration invites visitors of all ages to connect, reflect, and welcome the Year of the Horse together.
Festival access starts at 11 am; activities and performances start at 12 pm. Parking is available in OMCA’s Oak Street Garage for a day rate of $10; Limited street parking is available around the museum. 7. ASL Interpretation for OMCA Garden stage will be provided.
All complimentary advance reservations for members are sold out. A limited number of free member tickets will be available onsite on the day of the event.
Schedule of Events
PERFORMANCES
GARDEN STAGE *
12–12:20 pm Opening Celebration: Usher in the New Year and chase evil spirits away with a lucky lion dance by LionDanceME.
12:45–1:30 pm Nanta, Samgomu, and Pan-Gut Performances: Experience the rhythms and dynamic movements of Hansamo’s Nanta, Pungmul & Dance Teams.
1:35–2:05 pm Music & Meditation with seiji oda: Drop into this Bay-Area-grown blend of mindfulness and lofi-hyphy beats paired with optional movement and breathing exercises for all levels.
2:35–3:20 pm Kulintang Music and Filipino Dance Performances with KULARTS: Enjoy contemporary kulintang music by Kulintang Dialog, Pilipino folk dances by AGOS Youth Program, and diasporic Pilipino dances by Alleluia Panis Dance Theater.
3:30–4 pm Closing Celebration: Energetic performance by UC Berkeley’s Vietnamese Student Association Lion and Dragon Dance Team for good luck and prosperity in the New Year.
STORYTIME
LECTURE HALL, LOWER LEVEL **
1-2 pm Enjoy a reading of Anzu the Great Kaiju with author Benson Shum and learn how he makes and illustrates books!
2:30-3:30 pm Join Oakland Public Library for a Lunar New Year family storytime with songs, movement, and fun!
ACTIVITIES
MID LEVEL TERRACE, MID LEVEL
11 am–4 pm Shop and enjoy local artisanal goods and sweet treats by Sunnie Creative, A Jar of Pickles, JIĀ HOME CO., Oakland Fortune, Alice St. Bakery Cafe, Fabula Tea, and Little Moon Bakehouse.
GARDEN, LOWER LEVEL
12–4:00 pm Create a horse puppet and decorate a red envelope.
KORET PLAZA, LOWER LEVEL
12–4:00 pm Write a new year wish for your community and add it to our collective Year of the Horse wishing tree!
12:30–3:30 pm Oakland Chinatown’s very own Town Print Shop pops up at OMCA today. Experience live screen printing and grab a limited edition Year of the Horse print to commemorate the Museum’s 25th Anniversary Lunar New Year celebration (while supplies last).
AMPHITHEATER, LOWER LEVEL
12:30–1:30 pm and 2:30–3:30 pm Get ready to dance and learn official K-Pop choreography for two different songs with dance instructor Alice Park.
GALLERY ACTIVITIES
GARDEN AND KORET PLAZA, LOWER LEVEL
12–4:00 pm Pick up a self-guided Lunar New Year Zodiac Animal Quest activity sheet and search for zodiac animals in our galleries.
ALL GALLERIES, LOWER, MID, UPPER LEVELS
1–3:00 pm Gallery Chats at OMCA takes an informal approach to the traditional museum tour by encouraging meaningful conversations and fresh interpretations to connect with the artwork, artifacts, and stories in our galleries. Visitors are invited to chat, ask questions, and connect with our OMCA facilitators who combine content knowledge with lived experience to encourage meaningful dialogue and fresh interpretations of our exhibitions.
FOOD AND BEVERAGES
FOOD VENDORS, UPPER LEVEL, OAK STREET PLAZA
11 am–4 pm Enjoy a delectable variety of food offerings from Bay Area AAPI chefs, including D’Grobak, Pintoh Thai, House of Phin, and Pho Vy Vietnamese Cuisine.
TOWN FARE CAFE, MID LEVEL
11 am–4 pm Enjoy cuisine and beverages that pay tribute to Chef Michele’s Southern roots and Oakland upbringing while bringing together flavors from the diverse cultures within the local community.
*If raining, performances will move to the James Moore Theater, Lower Level.
**Limited seating. Doors open 15 minutes before each storytime.
About the performers and partners
As seen on America’s Got Talent, this is LionDanceME, fresh off of a world lion dance championship in Malaysia! They made history by having the first female in the world to win the Western Lion King title, and continue to keep the cultural art of dragon and lion dance alive through youth programs at over 30 different schools in San Francisco. You can check out their showcase every Saturday at 4pm in the heart of Chinatown on Grant Avenue!
Hansamo is a non-profit organization of Korean-American students and parents in the Bay Area committed to promoting the beauty of the Korean language and Korean culture. Through performances and volunteer efforts that share these traditions, Hansamo contributes to the enrichment of the community’s cultural diversity and awareness.
Founded in 1985, KULARTS is the main presenter of contemporary and tribal Pilipino Arts in the United States. The mission of KULARTS is to inform and expand the understanding of American Pilipino culture through works that address contemporary issues in the community. KULARTS objectives are to nurture the artistic development of Pilipino American artists, and preserve the spirit and integrity of ancient Pilipino art forms through research, education, and documentation.
seiji oda is a Japanese-American rapper and producer from Oakland. His signature sound “lofi-hyphy” combines ambient soundscapes with his Bay Area hyphy roots. This juxtaposition represents seiji’s unorthodox approach to creating music that feels both familiar and futuristic.
Cal VSA Lion Dance, founded in 2012 through the Vietnamese Student Association’s Culture Show, is UC Berkeley’s one and only student-run lion dance team. Earnestly serving the local Bay Area community for the past 11 years, they’ve developed a tight-knit team of students and alumni connected by culture, passion, and comradery.
Benson Shum is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. Among his many books for young readers is Anzu the Great Kaiju, an ABA Kid’s Indie Next Pick and awarded for Outstanding Achievement in Social Emotional Literature by the Children’s Literature Council of Southern California (CLCSC). Aside from writing and illustrating, Benson is also a Disney Animator at the Walt Disney Animation Studios, where he has worked on such films as Frozen 1 and 2, Big Hero 6, Moana, Encanto, and Zootopia 1 and 2.
With its Main Library on 14th Street and seventeen branch libraries around the Town, the Oakland Public Library empowers all people to explore, connect, and grow. Their services include the Second Start Adult Literacy Program, a Tool Lending Library, the African-American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO), and the Oakland History Center located on the 2nd Floor of the Main Library.
Alice Park has been teaching her interpretation of official K-Pop choreography since 2022 at various Bay Area dance studios, including City Dance, In the Groove Studios, and Enjoy Dance Studio. She is a member of the K-Pop project group Groobeu (Groo브), a K-Pop dance cover group that releases K-Pop covers filmed in public and performs at various live events.
Town Print is an Oakland-based and AAPI-owned print shop serving the community since 2009, specializing in screen printing, digital printing, and embroidery on a wide range of apparel and textiles. Town Print proudly partners with artists, businesses, schools, and organizations to bring their brands and creative ideas to life.
Sponsors
OMCA Lunar New Year is made possible in part by generous support from the Oakland Museum Women’s Board.
