Lunar New Year Goes Virtual With Launch Of VIRTUAL MOCA FEST 2021

The Museum of Chinese in America has announced VIRTUAL MOCA FEST 2021, MOCA's month-long celebration of free Lunar New Year programming now streaming live or on-demand via digital, online and social media platforms to welcome the Year of the Gold Ox and kick off the year 4719 on the Chinese calendar!

The Museum invites people of all ages to participate virtually in its unique celebration designed to provide a deeper and more genuine understanding of this famed holiday and what it means to celebrate it in these challenging times.

The full VIRTUAL MOCA FEST 2021 calendar of events is available to download as a PDF here. Registration for all events is FREE at www.mocanyc.org/calendar.

All events will either be live-streamed or available on-demand via Zoom, Facebook and YouTube. Check out MOCA's YouTube channel regularly at www.youtube.com/mocanyc where viewers can find all of the VIRTUAL MOCA FEST 2021 videos as MOCA rolls out its virtual programming during the Lunar New Year holidays.

Donations are welcome, fully tax deductible and support MOCA's educational programs. MOCA also is offering live-streamed tours of its museum exhibitions by group appointment only. To book a live-streamed tour, email development@mocanyc.org.

Journalists wishing to register for any of these events should email press@mocanyc.org.

Highlights of this year's VIRTUAL MOCA FEST include the Lunar New Year Virtual Family Festival featuring a week of children's arts and crafts, storytime readings, meet & greets with authors, and pre-recorded Lion Dance performances all delivered virtually; new MOCA COOKS and MOCA Mixology hands-on workshops where participants can learn remotely how to make iconic Lunar New Year dishes and pair them with contemporary fusion cocktails; new talks from the MOCA Spotlight and MOCA Treasures on the Road monthly video series; and a spectacular Virtual Party and LNY Celebration with DJ Chopstix Mami to announce the launch of streetwear label PRIVATE POLICY's fashion collaboration with MOCA during New York Fashion Week (read announcement here).

"MOCA is proud to organize a Lunar New Year celebration that can still bring people together during these socially distanced times," said Nancy Yao Maasbach, President of the Museum of Chinese in America. "It is a time-honored tradition that evolves every year to offer new, meaningful ways for people to deepen their appreciation of Lunar New Year. With the Museum's temporary closure due to COVID-19, the silver lining is that our digital transformation enables us to reach even more people near and far and help them understand the holiday's contribution to the American experience."

VIRTUAL MOCA FEST 2021 is accompanied by a social media campaign "The Gathering Virtual Tray of Togetherness" at #GatherRoundtheTray. Inspired by MOCA's current special exhibition Gathering: Collecting and Documenting Chinese American History featuring iconic artifacts from 28 Chinese American museums, historical societies and groups, The Gathering Virtual Tray of Togetherness emulates the spirit of the exhibition by highlighting on social media one Lunar New Year photo a day from each institution's collection during February. Trays of Togetherness, which are usually filled with symbolic candies, fruits and nuts, have been a part of LNY traditions for centuries. The Gathering Virtual Tray of Togetherness has historic photos, each of which has been specially chosen for what it means to the spirit of Lunar New Year.

The public is invited to follow The Gathering Virtual Tray of Togetherness on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at @mocanyc as MOCA posts new Lunar New Year photos from Chinese American museums all across North America. Individuals are invited to send in a favorite Lunar New Year photo with caption by tagging #GatherRoundtheTray or emailing gathering@mocanyc.org so MOCA can share it on its social media channels.

MOCA's Lunar New Year Virtual Family Festival begins on Thursday, February 11, 2021 and continues through Friday, February 19, 2021. To keep the spirit of the Lion Dance alive during these virtual times, MOCA will broadcast a YouTube premiere of its Lunar New Year Family Festival Kick-Off on February 15, 2021. Perfect for families, the YouTube premiere will open with the "Cup of Noodles" song performed by No-No Boy, featuring songwriter Julian Saporiti and his collaborator Emilia Halvorsen, followed by a pre-recorded video of the United East Athletics Association's Lion Dance from MOCA's 2020 Lunar New Year Family Festival.

Another highlight of the weeklong Lunar New Year Virtual Family Festival is MOCAKIDS: La Mian for Longevity with Noodle Puller Peter Looi on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at 4 P.M. EST. Watch and learn from expert noodle puller Peter Looi as he demonstrates the art of pulling long-life noodles, an especially auspicious New Year's tradition. The program will be followed by a Q&A. Best for children ages 8-12. Older and younger siblings welcome!

In lieu of its Lunar New Year Night Market event, MOCA will bring you a taste of Lunar New Year with its MOCA Mixology and MOCA COOKS events. Adults above the age of 21 are invited to join our fabulous remote cocktail-making event with Eddy Buckingham and Hugo Florez from The Tyger restaurant on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 4 P.M. EST. Later that week, guests will have the opportunity to cook along with Tina Yao, whose famous dumpling recipe is immortalized in the book Heirloom Kitchen by Anna Francese Gass, teaching how to make tang yuan or sweet rice balls on Friday, February 26, 2021 at 4 P.M. EST. Each of these events will allow guests to make something delicious and meet the chefs behind the treats!

The next installment of MOCA Spotlight, the Museum's monthly series of intimate, off-the-record conversations with Chinese American icons, will be on Friday, February 19, 2021 at 4 P.M. EST featuring The Honorable State Senator Mae Yih. Ms. Yih made history 45 years ago when she won a seat in the Oregon House of Representatives and became the first Chinese American elected to a state legislature anywhere in the U.S.

MOCA Treasures on the Road, where guests present their artifacts, antiques, and collectibles and the stories behind those items while engaged in conversation with an expert scholar, will take place on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 4:00 P.M. EST featuring Chinese American historian Sonia Ng. Ms. Ng will introduce viewers to the historical "China Alley" district, a short street in downtown Hanford in California featuring 11 historic buildings that trace their roots back to 1877. She will also be discussing one of her family's important historical treasures with MOCA.

Check out MOCA's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/mocanyc where you'll find VIRTUAL MOCA FEST 2021 on-demand videos such as The Pocket Chinese Almanac 2021 - The Year of the Ox with Joanna C. Lee and Ken Smith (almanac for sale here), and MOCA COOKS with Nom Wah Tea Parlor featuring Wilson Tang and Chef Julie Cole sharing a recipe for pan-fried noodles pulled direct from their new cookbook (available for sale at nomwah.com/shop/cookbook).

Browse the MOCA Shop by Pearl River online for a collection of unique gifts inspired by MOCA's exhibitions, and shop online at https://pearlriver.com/collections/museum-of-chinese-in-america

The MOCA OneWorld COVID-19 special collection is documenting stories of Chinese Americans and the Chinese diaspora resisting coronavirus-fueled hate with incredible acts of compassion, generosity, and creative and artistic expression. Email oneworld@mocanyc.org to submit a story, images, videos or text, or to invite MOCA to record an oral history interview virtually with you.