Three chances around Tacoma to ring in Lunar New Year 2023, the Year of the Rabbit
It’s the Year of the Rabbit (and of the Cat), and Tacoma has two festivals in January and one in February to celebrate with food, dancing, music and plenty of good luck.
Lunar New Year honors the first new moon of the lunar calendar, jetting through 15 days until the first full moon arrives. Marking winter’s end and spring’s welcome, it’s a time for cleaning house, settling debts and all-around eradicating misfortune.
Lucky red envelopes, ideally filled with money, are a common sight at celebrations, as are lanterns and firecrackers, the light and sound believed to fend off evil spirits.
The last Year of the Rabbit fell in 2011. Each new year also cycles through the five elements of nature, according to Chinese tradition; this year’s rabbit represents water, which last occurred in 1963.
For the Vietnamese new year, 2023 is represented by the Cat.
In Tacoma, we have three chances to celebrate, beginning Sunday, Jan. 15 at the Eastside Community Center. The annual Lincoln District event happens two weeks later, Saturday, Jan. 28, while the Asia Pacific Cultural Center hosts its 25th edition Feb. 25 back at the Tacoma Dome.
Here are details on each Lunar New Year event in Tacoma, when to arrive and what to expect. No matter what, come hungry!
LUNAR NEW YEAR AT METRO PARKS TACOMA
▪ When: Sunday, Jan. 15, 1-4 p.m.
▪ Where: Eastside Community Center, 1721 E. 56th St.
▪ What to know: free vegetarian lunch, several dance groups and live music, martial arts, calligraphy writing and more, presented in both English and Vietnamese.
▪ Event details: metroparkstacoma.org
Metro Parks Tacoma hosts its first-ever Tet (Vietnamese New Year), the programming organized by Chua Phuoc Hue Buddhist Temple on 72nd Street, the Vietnamese American Community Association and Golden Bamboo, a local senior walking group.
The event kicks off a series of community-selected events in 2023 funded through Tacoma Creates that will include Juneteenth, Dia de los Muertos and South Tacoma Heritage Festival.
At the Eastside Lunar New Year celebration, which is free to attend, families can enjoy a complimentary vegetarian lunch, prepared by Buddhist nuns, of fried spring rolls, longevity noodles and agar agar dessert jelly. Other activities include calligraphy, a special art exhibition, live music and dancing.
In a press release, organizer Lisa Mathusz explained the tradition here as one that dates back more than three decades, when she launched a group called the Sunflowers to teach traditional dancing to young girls arriving from Vietnam.
“We began celebrating Tet in Tacoma in 1990 to keep our culture alive and not lost to our children whose families are refugees,” she said.
LINCOLN DISTRICT LUNAR NEW YEAR
▪ When: Saturday, Jan. 28, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
▪ Where: Lincoln District, 38th Street from G St. to Thompson
▪ What to know: outdoor event with lion dancers weaving through streets and neighborhood businesses, pop-up food vendors plus specials at local restaurants, makers market and DJs.
▪ Event details: lincolndistricttacoma.square.site/events
The Lincoln District Business Association puts on a fun-filled event that spills into the streets and wanders through local businesses. Restaurants will offer specials on everything from banh mi and Vietnamese coffee to che (dessert drinks).
In 2022, after a two-year hiatus, the event was back in full force with a big crowd gathered on 38th Street and Yakima Avenue for lion dancers and firecrackers. Again this year, The streets are closed to traffic on Yakima from 38th to 39th and on 38th from G to Thompson.
Great neighborhood eats include Lunar’s Pho, Vien Dong, VK Viet Kitchen, M&K Bakery and Deli, Tho Tuong BBQ, Cafe La Vie and Bambu. A pop-up marketplace will bring additional food trucks and vendors outside, as well as vintage clothing stalls and other local wares, plus DJs.
Free parking available at the Lincoln High School lot at 37th and Park Avenue.
APCC LUNAR NEW YEAR
▪ When: Saturday, Feb. 25, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
▪ Where: Tacoma Dome, 2727 E. D St.
▪ What to know: annual new year celebration of Asian food, art and culture with live performances, vendors, games, crafts and more.
▪ Event details: asiapacificculturalcenter.org/newyearcelebration
Tacoma’s Asia Pacific Cultural Center welcomes the city back to Tacoma Dome for the 25th edition of its new year celebration, which launched in 1998. Since then, it has ballooned from about 1,000 attendees to more than 10,000, with 100-plus vendors and dozens of performances.
Every year, the event focuses on a specific host country; for 2023, Samoa headlines. “Look for a very exciting and high-energy show from the many performers of this amazing country,” APCC wrote on its event page. Overall, the festival highlights Asian Pacific cultures including Indonesia, Fiji, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, China, Cambodia and Thailand.
In addition to the shows on stage, vendors will offer education as well as arts and crafts — for making on-site and for sale, other family-friendly games and activities, and plenty of food. “Please come hungry,” as the event page implores.
It’s a lively, all-day event that is open to the public and free to enter.
