The month-long Chinatown Arts Festival is back with fun performances and more
Everyone knows about Chinatown’s famous Lunar New Year parade, when thousands take to the streets and celebrate the procession of lion dancers that bless businesses in the neighborhood with a year of good fortune.
But not everyone knows that, every October, there is another festival that honors the contributions of Asian-American artists, performers and musicians who make up the vibrant fabric of Chinatown.
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The Chinatown Arts Festival is produced by Think!Chinatown, an organization that fosters the bustling art scene in the Manhattan neighborhood.
Although the event’s full lineup will be announced on September 30, we already know what some of the highlights will be. This year’s festival headliner on October 12 will be singer and multi-instrumentalist Treya Lam, whose music is rooted in Chinese medicine wellness practices. A guided Cantonese opera experience about the Legend of the Purple Hairpin will also delight, this one in the bamboo garden at 5 Essex on October 25. The festival will wrap up with a huge block party on October 27, with tunes provided by DJ Yiu Yiu.
If you’re looking for something a bit calmer, opt for the plenty literary events on schedule, including readings by Ava Chin and others. Music fans, on the other hand, should take part in Listening Sessions, where you’ll get to listen to vinyl records of Chinese music collected from the local Chinatown community.
Think!Chinatown’s Arts Festival aims to highlight emerging Asian artists and celebrate the storytelling, histories and people who make the neighborhood one of the most vibrant and visited in the entire city.
To stay updated on the latest information about performances and schedules, visit the festival’s website.