The Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan’s Chinese Lunar New Year’s Celebration will be held Feb. 13 at Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E. Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor. There will be Children’s Performances (1-3 p.m.) including a colorful lion dance; traditional Chinese orchestra; dangerous kung fu (martial arts) demonstration; graceful Chinese dancers; spectacular Chinese Yo-Yo stunts; and Chinese New Year’s stories, songs, rhymes, skits and films. There will also be a “Market Festival” with children’s games and crafts and delicious Taiwanese snacks (3-5 p.m.).

Tickets will be available in advance and at the door, $5 for 25 tokens. Tokens may be exchanged for games and snacks at the Market Festival. For more information check out www.aaccom.org.

Chinese Lunar New Year’s Day will be Feb. 14 this year. It signifies the beginning of spring and is celebrated by ethnic Chinese in many countries around the world. It is also celebrated by ethnic Taiwanese, Koreans (Sol), Vietnamese (Tet), Tibetans (Losar) and others; and after being celebrated in America for over 150 years, it has become woven into the fabric of American culture. Every year is represented by one of 12 animal zodiac signs, and this will be the Year of the Tiger.

The Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to provide an opportunity for any interested persons to learn about Chinese culture and language regardless of one’s race or cultural background and to promote cultural diversity. Chinese classes are held once a week on Friday nights and are open to the public. For more information check out www.aaccom.org or e-mail aaccom@yahoo.com.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang will be MC'ing this event.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a second-generation Chinese American from California who now divides her time between Ann Arbor and the Big Island of Hawaii. She is editor of IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, lead multicultural contributor for AnnArbor.com, and a contributor for New America Media's Ethnoblog. She is a popular speaker on Asian Pacific American and multicultural issues. Check out her Web site at franceskaihwawang.com, her blog at franceskaihwawang.blogspot.com or reach her at fkwang888@gmail.com.