2024 Cleveland and Akron Lunar New Year Celebrations: The Year Of The Dragon

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We did not attend the first day of the Cleveland celebration, since Stuart was at an orienteering event on February 10, 2024 (see our last blog post: Six Days: Ten Cleveland Metroparks and Orienteering in Geauga Park District). We enjoyed the second day of the Cleveland's Year of the Dragon Lunar New Year Celebration at Asia Plaza on February 11, 2024, and then went to the 2024 Year of the Dragon Downtown Akron Lunar New Year Celebration at Akron Civic Theatre on February 18, 2024. We enjoyed participating in both of these celebrations, and wanted to create this blog post to share with you some of what we saw.

Attending both of these celebrations this year had an added significance for us, since last year, Stuart was feeling very ill as we entered 2023. While he was able to attend the January 21, 2023, Asia Plaza Cleveland - Year Of The Rabbit Lunar New Year Celebration with difficulty, we had were not able to attend the Akron Lunar New Year celebration and many other events a year ago. Attending the two Lunar New Year Celebrations this year was psychologically significant for Stuart.

Stuart wrote about his experiences a year ago in these blog posts:

• Blog Date: March 8, 2023 - sosAssociates.com Blogiversary: Eleven
  See the section entitled: "January/February 2023 - The Blogs Not Written," were he wrote ". . . to thank the organizers for improving the quality of life in Cleveland and Akron by planning the events, and to let them know I really missed attending them in 2023!"

• Blog Date: June 11, 2023 - My Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Part One: Diagnosis & Medication

  As I started 2023, symptoms caused by my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy had radically changed my life to the point that I wrote in my March 8, 2023, sosAssociates.com Blogiversary: Eleven blog post about the events I missed, instead of my normal blogging about the many that I would attend.

We are grateful that we were able to attend these events this year, and share our experiences in this blog post.

 

 

Sunday, February 11, 2024 - Cleveland's Year of the Dragon Lunar New Year Celebration at Asia Plaza

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Lunar New Year: The Year Of The Dragon
From ASIATOWN CLEVELAND

PUBLISHED : JANUARY 11, 2024

The Lunar New Year or Spring Festival is commonly referred to as Chinese New Year, Tết in Vietnamese, Seollal (설날) in Korean, Losar ལོོ་གསར in Tibet, and Tsagaan Sar in Mongolian. It begins on February 10, 2024. Families begin preparing weeks before, and celebrations last for two weeks until the Lantern Festival.

According to the zodiac calendar, this year will begin the Year of the Wood Dragon, which is known for growth, power, and abundance. Also the dragon symbolizes authority, nobility and luck. Traditions vary across geography and religion, but read on for a few ways to celebrate in AsiaTown!

 

We enjoyed attending the Cleveland New Year Celebration presented by Asia Plaza, although we unfortunately came in the afternoon and missed the main performers. It still was fun to see the joy in the children's faces at the K-Pop Dance Party. Here are our photos from the day:

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Be sure to see the Cleveland AsiaTown web page about the Lunar New Year: The Year Of The Dragon, since it has a wealth of information about the holiday. I have attached a PDF version of the web page for future reference. Click here to open the PDF file (21.5MB) in a new browser window.

 

Learn more about this event by reading the article and watching the two videos on the WEWS TV-5 website, and seeing the many photos and video on Dan Hanson's ClevelandPeople.Com website. We highly recommend following Dan Hanson on social media and seeing his many unique blogs (topic include: Cleveland 101, tech, seniors, women, and more). Dan's ClevelandPeople.Com blog is the place to learn about Cleveland's ". . . 120 or so different ethnic groups - each bringing their unique customs, costumes, music, religion, art, food and so on."

• Asia Plaza in Cleveland hosts Year of Dragon Lunar New Year Celebration
  Posted at 10:09 AM, Feb 10, 2024 and last updated 10:35 AM, Feb 10, 2024. By Camryn Justice - News 5 Cleveland

• Lunar New Year 2024 - Asia Plaza
  February 10, 2024, By Dan Hanson - ClevelandPeople.Com

  Cleveland Glory Waist Drum Team at Lunar New Year Event
  Dan Hanson
  . . . Feb 11, 2024 ASIA PLAZA
  The 2024 Lunar New Year was celebrated at Asia Plaza in Cleveland with performances, food and more. This is a look at a short warm-up dance by the Cleveland Glory Waist Drum Team before their performance on the main stage. https://www.clevelandpeople.com/groups/chinese/chinese.htm

 

 

Sunday, February 18, 2024 - Year of the Dragon Downtown Akron Lunar New Year Celebration at Akron Civic Theatre

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2024 Downtown Akron Lunar New Year Celebration . . .

Welcome the Year of the Dragon by enjoying great food from downtown restaurants, learning more about Lunar New Year, creating crafts, and attending a performance at the Akron Civic Theatre that features professional performers along with NIHF STEM Middle School Students and other community members. After the performance, enjoy a dazzling fireworks display right outside the theatre!

 

See all the details on the Downtown Akron web page about the 2024 Lunar New Year Celebration, which we have also attached as a PDF file (2.8MB) that will open in a new browser window.

 

 

Akron Civic Theatre

History of Akron Civic Theatre
Long recognized among the community’s cultural landmarks, the Akron Civic Theatre has a rich and spectacular history. It has provided the community with a venue for quality entertainment and live performances for over seventy years.

During that time, hundreds of thousands of people have been thrilled by various theatrical presentations, both on stage and on screen.

The theater was built in 1929 by Marcus Loew and designed by famed theater architect, John Eberson. The interior structure was fashioned after a Moorish castle featuring Mediterranean decor, including medieval carvings, authentic European antiques and Italian alabaster sculptures.

Among facilities of its size, the Civic is one of only five remaining atmospheric theaters in the country where patrons experience a twinkling star-lit sky and intermittent clouds moving across the horizon, all while sitting inside the auditorium.

The Knight Stage
The Knight Stage is an intimate (200-seat) theater space, owned and operated by the Akron Civic Theatre. The venue was completed in summer 2021 as part of an $8.5 million renovation on the Civic that also included two exterior murals ("Iris, Aster, Lotus, and Ragwort" and "Axis Mundi") and the restoration of the grand lobby and arcade.

We love the atmosphere of the Akron Civic Theatre, so we wanted to share photos/video of our visit. Be sure to note the stars on the ceiling of the theatre! This was our first time seeing The Knight Stage, on whose walls are displayed photographs of performers that have a connection to Akron.

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the information about the performers with an Akron connection who are in the slides!!

 

We also wanted to include the following photo showing the construction to improve the outdoor space next to the theatre in Lock 3 Park. We look forward to returning to see this space when it reopens. Stuart enjoyed an outdoor concert at Lock 3 after viewing FRONT International 2022 art at several Akron galleries, and at the outdoor space at Lock 4. (Lock 4 is adjacent to the Lock 3 Park.)

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Looking out the side window of the Akron Civic Theatre, we saw where the Ohio & Erie Canalway enters downtown Akron. Stuart traveled this section of the canalway while completing the Buckeye Trail's 250-mile-long "Little Loop" in 2020. He loved how the trail went through interesting points in Akron.

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• Blog Date: December 10, 2020 - 3 of 5: Exploring the Akron Section of the Buckeye Trail "Little Loop"
  See the Day #12 - Wednesday, May 27, 2020 section.

  The bridge over the highway as you enter the city not only made for safe traveling, but had artistic photography displayed to welcome you to the city. Very nice, Akron!
  
  I have to say that I didn't know what to expect when I saw that the Buckeye Trail went right through Akron. It ended up including a section of Akron I have enjoyed visiting in the past, since it is the location of Akron Civic Theatre (@AkronCivic) and the parks along Akron's old canal locks (@Lock3Akron). I was very impressed with how the Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area (@OECanalway) route of the Buckeye Trail through the city was well marked, and that the whole canal section had interesting historic signage.

 

 

Organizations' Booths

In the Knight Stage area of the theatre building were booths of local organizations that are making a difference in the community. Here is information about three booths where we talked to representatives about what they do.

Asian Services in Action (ASIA)

ASIA was founded in 1995 by four women who sought to improve the quality of life for Asians in Northeast Ohio. Today, the organization is the largest Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) focused health and social services 501(c)(3) organization in the State of Ohio. ASIA has taken on the most challenging tasks to help the underserved, low-income, and immigrant communities across the state. ASIA is a credible nonprofit organization providing services for over 58,000 individuals annually coordinated out of offices located in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. ASIA provides culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to ensure effective programming that addresses the needs of the AAPI and new American communities in Northeast Ohio.

We had seen ASIA's booth on January 21, 2023, at the Asia Plaza Cleveland - Year Of The Rabbit Lunar New Year Celebration, so we knew of the organization, but did not know the full extent of its services. At the 2024 Akron Lunar New Year Celebration, ASIA provided at their booth voter registration forms, and we learned that their work is more extensive than we knew. Here are photos we took of the informational program and services flyers they had at their booth:

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"ASIA offers a wide range of services, most at no cost or for a small fee." You can learn more on the ASIA website: AsiaOhio.org

 

 

Cummings Center for the History of Psychology

The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology (CCHP) is located at The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. . . .

The CCHP includes a museum of psychology that highlights artifacts, documents, films, and photographs from the history of the human sciences. . . .

The CCHP also includes the Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC), . . . The mission of the IHSC is to explore what it means to be human. . . .

It was good to talk to CCHP Business Operations Manager Dorothy Gruich, M.Ed., and a student intern about the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology and the Institute for Human Science and Culture Stuart did see the FRONT International 2022 art installation at CCHP, but we have not visited the museum yet. When Stuart earned a double major as a college undergraduate, he always considered his psychology major his primary major. Thus, he is really interested in the history of psychology. We hope to finally tour the museum in 2024 using the 50% discount museum admission coupons that were given out to attendees of the 2024 Akron Lunar New Year Celebration.

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House Three Thirty - LeBron James Family Foundation

This is the venue map from the HouseThreeThirty.com website.
Be sure to visit the website to learn more!

The LeBron James Family Foundation is proud to introduce House Three Thirty, an innovative, multi-use facility filled with resources for and by I PROMISE families that we believe will change the entire trajectory of our community.

House Three Thirty will offer what we’ve learned our families need. It will be a hub for hands-on job training for some of the most skilled yet underrepresented workers in our community – giving them essential experience they can parlay into even bigger career opportunities. It will be an accessible one-stop-shop for our families’ and our community’s financial health needs so they may take control of their financial futures. It will be a gathering space for the important conversations needed to move our community and country forward.

In everything we do as a Foundation, it’s all about making our kids, parents, and people across the community believe there can be more in their lives than they ever dreamed possible,” said LeBron James. “We designed House Three Thirty to create opportunities and open doors to show them that anything is possible, and that they can do it right here in Akron. We believe House Three Thirty will be a staple for our city, and we can’t wait for people to come and experience it.

At first we didn't think we had heard of House Three Thirty, but as we talked to their representative, but then Stuart remembered hearing a TV news story about its development. The representative did a good job of updating us on what is happening at this Akron resource facility. House Three Thirty is at the location of the former iconic Akron landmark The Tangier, and will bring what is needed to help better the community.

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Learn more on the House Three Thirty website and in the following article on the LeBron James Family Foundation website:

• HouseThreeThirty.com

• Welcome to House Three Thirty
  Published 12/16/2020. By Stephanie Rosa

 

 

Culture Fair, Dinner, and Performances: Acts 1 & 2

Here are our photos/videos from the culture fair, our tasty dinner from Cilantro Thai & Sushi Restaurant in Akron, and Act 1 performances:

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

Here are our photos/videos from the Act 2 performances:

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

We did not get videos of all performers, so see the full list of Act 1 and 2 performers on the Downtown Akron web page about the 2024 Lunar New Year Celebration. The list can also be found on the attached PDF file (2.8MB) that will open in a new browser window.

 

 

Fireworks and Dragons

Dragon Dancers Lead audience outside for Fireworks at about 8:00 PM

Thank you so much, Downtown Akron Partnership, for having the fun continue on Main Street Akron -- dragons ran wild on the streets of Akron as fireworks lit the night sky!

We recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

Thank you, 2024 Akron Lunar New Year Celebration supporters!

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The 2024 Downtown Akron Lunar New Year is presented by Downtown Akron Partnership, with generous support from the City of Akron, Knight Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, GAR Foundation, Akron Community Foundation, and the Akron Civic Theatre. Other community partners include the Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron Public Schools, National Inventors Hall of Fame STEM Middle School, Asian Services in Action, the Ka’Ren Community of Akron, METRO RTA, and the University of Akron.

We appreciate the sponsors and partners that made our fun day at the 2024 Lunar New Year Celebration in Akron possible!

 

 

Related Blog Posts

I always like to end my blog posts with a list of related blog posts. I hope you explore some of the following that may interest you:

• Blog Date: December 10, 2020 - 3 of 5: Exploring the Akron Section of the Buckeye Trail "Little Loop"
  See the Day #12 - Wednesday, May 27, 2020 section.

  The bridge over the highway as you enter the city not only made for safe traveling, but had artistic photography displayed to welcome you to the city. Very nice, Akron!
  
  I have to say that I didn't know what to expect when I saw that the Buckeye Trail went right through Akron. It ended up including a section of Akron I have enjoyed visiting in the past, since it is the location of Akron Civic Theatre (@AkronCivic) and the parks along Akron's old canal locks (@Lock3Akron). I was very impressed with how the Ohio & Erie Canalway National Heritage Area (@OECanalway) route of the Buckeye Trail through the city was well marked, and that the whole canal section had interesting historic signage.

• Blog Date: January 22, 2023 - Belated New Year Thank Yous & 2022 Reflections
  See the section about FRONT International venues in Akron.

  On Friday, August 26, 2022, I spent a fantastic day in Akron touring FRONT International venues. Here are just a few tweets from the day, but I want to encourage you to click on these tweets to see them all, since I did't have time to write a blog post about this great day in Akron!

• Blog Date: March 8, 2023 - sosAssociates.com Blogiversary: Eleven
  See photos in tweets in the "January 21, 2023 - Asia Plaza Cleveland - Year Of The Rabbit Lunar New Year Celebration" section.
  " . . . thank the organizers for improving the quality of life in Cleveland and Akron by planning the events . . . "

 

See these blog posts about the second PechaKucha Night Akron that took place on February 5, 2016, at the Akron Civic Theatre, and the October 20, 2023, PechaKucha Night Cleveland, which included a talk about Asiatown Migration:

• Blog Date: December 14, 2023 - PechaKucha Night Cleveland: Untold Lakefront Stories & Announcement of Lakefront's Future
  "Ferian Young did a presentation on the history of the location of Cleveland's Asiatown, typical activities within that community, and its relationship to the lakefront."

• Blog Date: February 17, 2016 - PechaKucha Night at the Akron Civic Theatre

  We had not been to Akron Civic Theatre (@AkronCivic) in a long time, but love this jewel that sparkles in the heart of Akron.
  
  It was built in 1929, and is one of only five remaining atmospheric theatres in the country. It is an amazing experience to sit in the auditorium and watch the stars and moving clouds above you. We learned that the stars on the ceiling are in the actual configuration of the constellations as they appeared in April 1929!
  
  The theatre also features incredible Mediterranean decor, medieval carvings, and European antiques and sculptures. In 2001-2002, the Civic went through a major restoration and expansion. It is now better than ever for both performers and audiences.

 

See all of our blog posts tagged "Akron" to read about the 22 past events we have written about in this city. (FYI, there are 353 blog posts tagged "Cleveland.") You may also be interested in reading our blog posts tagged "Cleveland Cultural Gardens", which include information about Cleveland One World Day.

 

We hope this 2024 Lunar New Year Celebration blog post, and our past blog posts, encourage others to go out and explore more of Northeast Ohio!