Lunar New Year Festival: Year of the Snake

Sat Feb 15, 2025
Various times
Age: All ages
Price: Included with admission
Location:
Peabody Essex Museum
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Come welcome the Year of the Snake with a vibrant festival heralding new beginnings and the coming of spring! Enjoy a scavenger hunt, art making, and guided tours of Yin Yu Tang.

Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. While some traditions are shared across countries, others are unique to one region, community or national cultural identity. Our programming this year focuses on Chinese cultural traditions.

Please note that museum galleries will not open until after the morning performance concludes.


THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT!
Dance Performance | Gund Kwok: Asian Women’s Lion and Dragon Dance Troupe

10:30–11:30 am | Main Atrium
Reservations required. Limited tickets available.
Dragon Quest and art making will be available to morning ticketholders beginning at 11:30 am.

1 pm: Museum opens for general admission

Drop-In Art Making: Decorating Red Envelopes
1–4 pm
East India Marine Hall
Decorate your own red envelope, a symbol of luck and prosperity in Chinese culture. Suitable for all ages.


Dragon Quest
1–5 pm | Ground Level, Level 2 and Level 3
Explore all three levels of the museum on the hunt for dragons and snakes! Claim your prize in the Garden Atrium. Suitable for all ages.


Outdoor Dance Performance | Gund Kwok: Asian Women’s Lion and Dragon Dance Troupe
1:15–1:45 pm
Essex Street in front of the museum’s Main Entrance

Experience the energy and grace of Gund Kwok, the first all-Asian women’s Lion and Dragon Dance troupe in the U.S. Stick around after the performance for a chance to interact with the performers and meet their dragons up close!

In the event of rain or inclement weather, the dragons will greet visitors inside the Main Atrium and roam throughout the museum instead.


Self-Guided Tours | Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home
1:15–4:15 pm; Every 30 minutes
Reservations required. Limited same-day tickets available at the Information desk beginning at 1 pm.
Yin Yu Tang — translated as “Hall of Plentiful Shelter” — was home to the Huang family for nearly two hundred years. For over 20 years, Yin Yu Tang has been a gateway into understanding the art and culture of generations of families living and working in rural Southeastern China.

Yin Yu Tang is currently undergoing work to preserve its roof tiles and masonry walls. During your visit, scaffolding may be present and work may be actively underway. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

 

Know before you go

Location: Main Atrium and East India Marine Hall

Included with admission

Visitors with sensory sensitivities are encouraged to utilize our KultureCity resources or pick up a sensory kit at the coatroom.

10 am–1 pm: SOLD OUT! Advanced ticketholder access only. Museum galleries will not be open until after the morning performance concludes.

1–5 pm: Museum opens for general admission and non-ticketed programming.

The afternoon Gund Kwok performance may be adapted to an indoor event in the event of rain or inclement weather.

The Atrium Café will not be open until 1 pm. Purchase from a select menu of Lunar New Year snacks at our café pop-up in East India Marine Hall.

The Museum Shop is open from 10 am–5 pm. Yin Yu Tang timed tickets will not be available to reserve until 1 pm.

Limited, same-day Yin Yu Tang tour tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 1 pm
About the Artists

Gund Kwok was founded in February 1998 as the first all-Asian women's Lion and Dragon Dance troupe in the United States. The troupe, whose name means “heroine” in Chinese, empowers Asian and Asian American women by giving them an opportunity to express their creativity, power and strength through performing the lion and dragon dances.

** Activity dates/times are subject to change. Please click through to the activity website to verify.