On March 5th, the Greater Princeton Branch of AYLUS (GPA) volunteered at the Lunar New Year Festival in Millburn, New Jersey.
The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year, is usually celebrated sometime between Jan. 20 and Feb. 21 around the world. Organizers of the Millburn Lunar New Year Festival do things a little differently.
This year’s outdoor festival, like last year’s, took place on Sunday, March 5 from 12 to 5 p.m. on Millburn Ave. (between Main and Spring streets.). This year, the Lunar New Year was early, it was in January. It’s kind of cold to have a street fair in January.
Students did a lion dance at the Millburn Lunar New Year Festival in 2022. The dance will be performed again at this year’s festival being held on March 5. The event included traditional Lunar New Year performances such as a dragon dance and lion dance and other exhibitions, including martial arts demonstration.
This year, traditional dance performances made their debut to acknowledge the large Asian community in Millburn and nearby townships. The festival also featured games like rabbit jenga and food vendors selling their product. Guest speakers including state Assemblyman John McKeon and Millburn Mayor Maggie Miggins attended the Festival.
The resident expected the two-block Lunar New Year party to attract at least 2,000 people, as it did last year, with attendees coming from nearby towns like Chatham and Morristown and those farther away like Basking Ridge and Edison. There were ~150 volunteers working the event.
GPA volunteers: Jonathan An (2.5 hrs), Laetitia Huang (2.5 hrs), Chenhao Luo (5 hrs), Xinyi Fan (3/5, 2.5 hrs), and more.
