Dragon Boat Festival Family Day

Celebrate Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) with MOCA! Find out what a poet, zongzi (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves), and dragon boats have in common. Enjoy a day-long series of activities on the significance of this major Chinese holiday.

Performances and Workshops

11:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Zong Zi: A History and Craft
Join us for a presentation on the history, regional varieties, and distinct folding styles of zong zi, commonly known as Chinese tamales.  After the presentation, stay and learn to fold paper zong zi and fill them with paper wishing stars, a popular past time for youth. Recommended for ages 7 and up.

12:00 pm—1:00 pm
Performance and Storytelling with Mingmei Yip
Come learn about the significance of poetry during Dragon Boat Festival with celebrated musician, Mingmei Yip, as she performs music inspired by the poet, Qu Yuan, using a traditional Chinese stringed instrument called the Qin. www.mingmeiyip.com. All ages.

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM & 2:00 – 2:30 PM
Calligraphy workshops with the New York Chinese Cultural Center
Using an ink brush, a teaching artist will demonstrate and explain the relationship between ancient Chinese pictographs and their modern day ideographs. Participants will learn how to hold and dip a brush in ink and write Chinese symbols on rice paper. Ages 5 and up. Limited Capacity: participants must sign up for workshops on day of event.

Family Friendly Tours and Storytelling

1:00 pm; 2:00 pm; 3:00 pm
Family Friendly Gallery Tours focused on Festivals and Celebrations
Join us on a family friendly tour and learn about some common customs and traditions of popular Chinese festivals and celebrations.

1:45 pm, 2:45 pm, 3:45 pm
Storytelling about the Dragon Boat Festival

Drop-in Arts and Crafts

10:00 am-4:30 pm Drop-in Arts & Craft Activities
Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival by participating in one of our arts and crafts activity stations:

Paper Folding: Try your hand at paper folding, and make a paper dragon boat.
Fragrant Satchet (Xiang Bao): Continue this Dragon Boat Festival tradition by making a scented bag for good health.
Dragon Boat Puppets: Put on a dragon boat competition with dragon stick puppets.

11:00 am-3:30 pm Teaching Artists Demonstrations
Artists from the Chinese Cultural Art Association will be conducting demonstrations throughout the afternoon.

Date: Sunday, July 29, 2012
Time: 10:00 am—5:00 pm
Location: 215 Centre St, NYC
Admission: $10 per person; Free for MOCA members and children under 1 year of age.
More information: visit www.mocanyc.org or email education@mocanyc.org