Lion dancer with happy new year banner in Chelsea Market with crowd of revelers

Lunar New Year 2019 in Review: A Third Location, Lion Dancing, Pigging out with Opening Ceremony, and More!

Lunar New Year festivities may be over, but the memories live on! Today we’re taking a look back at all the fun and festivities (and not to mention dumplings and lion dancing) from the season of the pig.

The MOCA Shop by Pearl River Opens for Business

We kicked everything off with the opening of our third location! Located within the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), the world's leading institution dedicated to preserving and presenting Chinese American history and culture, the MOCA Shop by Pearl River is a curated selection of cultural items, apothecary products, home goods, Asian American books, and more.

We were so honored and humbled by all those who braved the cold weather and insane snow squalls to celebrate with us.

Check out even more pictures here.

Closing Distances: Art Exhibition Opening

We also had fun at the opening reception of our latest art exhibition, CLOSING DISTANCES, co-created by painter Arlan Huang and amateur Cantonese opera performer Mee Mee Chin. These artists-in-residence (and cousins!) explore through paintings and textiles what it means to be Asian American, and how the different aspects of memory, culture, and family play into their art and their lives.

You can learn more about Arlan and Mee Mee in our interview with them. CLOSING DISTANCES is on view in our TriBeCa gallery through March 17.

Drawing the Lunar New Year with Felicia Liang

We were so proud to partner with the Uni Project, a not-for-profit dedicated to creating public learning spaces through NYC, and Chelsea Market on this creative event. Former Pearl River artist-in-residence Felicia Liang led this drawing activity which resulted in lots of great still lifes of a festive Lunar New Year tableau.

Talking to NY1 About Why Lunar New Year is All About Pigs and Prosperity

Lunar New Year for Pearl River means lots of fun good luck items, lion dancing — and chatting with NY1's Roger Clark. In our newest location, the MOCA Shop by Pearl River, president Joanne Kwong talked to the veteran reporter about Lunar New Year traditions, such as what foods to eat and what each of them mean.

Read the whole story.

Our Annual Lunar New Year Extravaganza

It was a rollicking good time at our store in Chelsea Market! We enjoyed some beautiful traditional Chinese dancing from dancer and educator Ling Tang, including water sleeves, fan, and ribbon.

Of course no Lunar New Year celebration would be complete without lion dancing from the Wang Chi Ming Hung Gar dance team!

We also welcomed back Pearl River friends, Mao's Bao, and their delicious sheng jian bao, a kind of panfried soup dumpling from Shanghai.

And we quenched our thirsts with refreshing beer from Tsingtao and yummy herbal tea from Brooklyn Crafted.

Chinese Opera and Even More Fabulous Lion Dancing

The festivities continued at our TriBeCa store with a Chinese opera makeup demonstration by artist-in-residence Mee Mee Chin and with model and dancer, Wendy Chu.

As though watching the transformation of Wendy into a Chinese opera princess weren’t enough, Wendy demonstrated some lovely dance moves while Mee Mee performed Cantonese opera.

We ended the celebration in the best way possible: with an incredible performance from the Wang Chi Ming Hung Gar dance team!

“Pigging Out” with Opening Ceremony

But the fun didn’t end there! We partnered with longtime friend and collaborator, Opening Ceremony, and hosted a pop-up shop at their epic “Pig Out” party, which kicked off Fashion Week and celebrated Lunar New Year.

In addition, we’re collaborating with Opening Ceremony on some adorable Muppets merchandise featuring that most glamorous of pigs, Miss Piggy, in a classic peony cheongsam. The sweatshirt and T-shirt are available on our website. A portion of the proceeds goes to benefit two organizations close to our hearts, Apex for Youth, a non-profit that helps underserved Asian and immigrant youth, and the Museum of Chinese in America.

Still not enough? Check out our posts on Lunar New Year traditions, foods, and legends. In the meantime, from our family to yours, here's to a happy and healthy Year of the Pig!

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