Industry City welcomed the Year of the Snake on Friday with a colorful Lunar New Year celebration.
Dozens of Brooklynites rang in the new year alongside a troupe of lion dancers and musicians who roamed through the campus. Lion dances, often performed on Lunar New Year, are thought to bring good luck and good fortune — and Industry City’s lion blessed businesses and visitors alike as it wound through businesses and courtyards.
The celebration ended with a performance in the food court, where visitors surrounded the lion and snapped photos to mark the occasion. Though Lunar New Year itself is only one day, it’s just the start of the Chinese Spring Festival, and Industry City will be decked out with festive art for all of February.
“The Lunar New Year celebration is one of our favorite annual traditions at Industry City,” said Jim Somoza, Managing Director of Industry City. “Brooklyn’s Sunset Park is home to one of the largest East Asian communities in NYC and we are proud to create spaces to amplify and celebrate the rich culture.”
Somoza encouraged Brooklynites to check out East Asian businesses at Industry City, like DAISO, a “one stop shop” full of Japanese-inspired homewares and other goods; and eateries like Baolala, which features Chinese and other Asian classic dishes with a modern twist, and Japan Village, which is filled with food stalls, a specialty grocery store, and more.
The Industry City celebration was one of many Lunar New Year celebrations in Brooklyn last weekend. In Sunset Park and Bensonhurst, the streets were filled with light and color as locals threw two separate Lunar New Year parades, each full of music, cultural celebrations, and community awards.
