Chinatown Partnership Local Development
Lunar Stages
Date: May 31; June 7 & 14, 2007
Time: 7:45PM – 10PM
Place: Columbus Park, Chinatown, Manhattan
(Entrance at Mulberry & Worth Sts)
Free Admission
Due to the resounding success of its autumn 2006 presentation, Lunar Stages is set to return for the Spring 2007 season with a new line-up of performances and films celebrating Asian-American/Pacific Islander cultures.
Beginning Thursday, May 31, and continuing for three consecutive Thursday evenings, Lunar Stages will celebrate the Asian cultural diaspora, from ancient to modern, with free entertainment and films in the convivial, open-air setting of Columbus Park, located between Bayard, Mulberry, Baxter, and Worth Streets. Each night opens with interactive Tai Chi demonstrations, roving puppets or multi-generational art projects followed by unique music and dance performances. All evenings will conclude with a movie. Local participating restaurants invite the audience to dine al fresco, by offering specially priced $5.50 savory boxed dinners.
Thursday, May 31 at 7:45p – Pacific Overtures. After your Tai Chi lesson, enjoy your boxed dinner while being serenaded by Andrew Wang on the Hawaiian slack key guitar. Hula dancers from Na Lehua Melemele will also perform. At sunset, settle down with your family for the Oscar-nominated Whale Rider, winner of 18 international awards, including the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
Thursday, June 7 at 7:45p – Distant Kingdoms. Feed your fascination with historical splendor and pageantry with a performance of the Cantonese opera, The Jade Bracelet by the Music From China ensemble. Enjoy vibrant costuming and make-up coupled with the distinctive sounds of a centuries-old operatic art form that is still practiced by aficionados and artists in Chinatown today. Then check out the breathtaking romance film, Curse of the Golden Flower, set in China’s 10th Century Tang Dynasty and starring the award-winning actress Gong Li, lauded for her performance in 2005’s Memoirs of a Geisha.
Thursday, June 14 at 7:45p – Asian Fusion Invasion. Bring the kids to our East meets West contemporary Asian puppet show, then shake things up a bit with the high-flying, action-packed and wildly popular cult film, King Fu Hustle, featuring stunning visual effects and the open hand-fighting style known as Buddhist Palm.
Festival goers will see three distinctly different stages of the moon on each night. Thursday, May 31 will be a full moon. On Thursday, June 7, you’ll observe a waning moon meaning 59% of the moon visible disk is illuminated. The new moon is on June 14, and is not visible at all.
The special appeal of Lunar Stages is that there is something fun for everyone. We were purposeful in planning for the diverse audiences who come down to experience Chinatown; from families to the young hipster, said David Eng, Marketing and Development Director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation, the group that also produces the highly popular Taste of Chinatown event, which takes place every spring and fall.
The Chinatown Partnership was formed to bring residents, business owners, and community groups together to rebuild Chinatown following 9/11, and to preserve the neighborhood’s unique culture while ensuring its vitality in the future.
For more information on the Spring 2007 Lunar Stages, please visit us at www.LunarStages.com.
