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Best Ways To Celebrate Lunar New Year In South Florida

The Chinese New Year, also referred to as the Lunar New Year, is a fun and festive celebration that can be enjoyed by the whole family. This 2013 is known as the year of the Snake in the Chinese Zodiac. The month and year a person is born determines which animal year they belong to. Though tickets to China may run steep from South Florida, there are quite a few ways to enjoy the holiday not far from home.
bluemartini
(Source: Blue Martini)

Chinese New Year Festival

Miami Dade College Kendall Campus
11011 S.W. 104 St.
Miami, FL 33176
(305) 333-1066
www.chinesenewyearfestivalmiami.org

Date: Feb. 17

Miami Dade College Kendall Campus hosts the annual Chinese New Year Festival on February 17th. The 25th anniversary of the festival is a fun, activity-filled family event with great Asian culutral shows, games, food and performances. Discover the meaning behind the year of the Snake through acrobatic movement, a lion and dragon dance, music, children's activities and more. Vendors from the tourism industry to fashion and food provide shopping and other entertaining extras.

Related: Best Bilingual Extracurricular Activities For Kids In Miami

playwright
(Source: Playwright Irish Pub)

Chinese Tea Ceremony with Master Tsai

Zen Village
3570 Main Highway
Miami, FL 33133
(305) 567-0165
www.zenvillage.org

Date: Feb. 10

Prepare for the newest Lunar Year with moments of reflection, peace, nature, art and enjoyment. Zen Village is hosting a Chinese tea ceremony with the center's founder, Master Chufei Tsai. The Chinese way of tea was thought of traditionally as a time for deep, philosophical thoughts, so the practice goes well beyond enjoying tasty drinks. The tea service is on Sunday, February 10 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended as spots fill quickly.

bluemartini
(Source: Blue Martini)

Dragon Dance & Dinner

Hakkasan
Fontainebleau Hotel & Resort
4441 Collins Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33140
(786) 276-1388
www.hakkasan.com/miami

Date: Feb. 10

Hakkasan is a top-caliber fine dining Cantonese cuisine restaurant located in the excitement-filled Fontainebleau Hotel & Resort in Miami Beach. With such luxurious surroundings, your meal alone will be memorable. Hakkasan serves great Chinese dishes, incorporating locally sourced ingredients for meals like roasted mango duck with lemon sauce, braised Japanese abalone with sea cucumber, Maine lobster noodle and stir-fry scallop. The annual dragon dance will be held in the evening starting in the lobby and finishing finally in the restaurant.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Massage
(Source: www.mandarinoriental.com/miami)

Oriental Meridian Massage & Aromatherapy

Mandarin Oriental Hotel
500 Brickell Key Drive
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 913-8288
www.mandarinoriental.com/miami

Ring in the new year feeling relaxed, refreshed and centered from a luxe 150-minute spa experience. Brickell Key's Mandarin Oriental Hotel offers the Mandarin Oriental Signature Spa Therapies incorporating traditional Chinese medicine, oriental meridian massage and aromatherapy essential oils. The session begins with a private consultation for the therapist to determine the guest's current state of being which then affects the methods used in that particular massage session. Post-massage, guests are given bonus nutrition and fitness consultations.

Related: Best After-School Activities For Kids In Miami

vandyke
(Source: Van Dyke Cafe)

Chinese Lunar New Year Dinner Party

PK Oriental Market
255 N.E. 167 St.
Miami, FL 33162
(305) 654-9646

Fun in the Miami sun comes to a grinding halt with a visit to the Holocaust Memorial, strategically located in a largely Jewish section of Miami Beach. A riveting and moving series of sculptures depict the fear and horror of the mass extermination of over 6 million Jews and countless other ethnicities. The centerpiece is the "Sculpture of Love and Anguish," an enormous hand sculpted of painted bronze that springs from the ground, reaching skyward, revealing a tattooed number on the forearm just like those used to brand Jews in Auschwitz. The hand beseeches the heavens while the souls of the condemned wrap around the forearm in an anguished ribbon of death.

What's more fun than spending quality time with close friends in an intimate environment? Peruse the web for favorite Chinese recipes, from kung pao chicken and egg fried rice to mu shu pork and lo mein, and invite close friends and family over to celebrate the night. Even the most obscure of ingredients can be found locally at PK Oriental Market. Fresh meat, seafood and poultry to esoteric Chinese teas and sweets can be found in the expansive market on the popular 167 Street. Have guests dress up in the spirit and pass around lucky fish to make fun predictions for the year of the Snake.

Chanoa Chen is a well-published blogger and online journalist on topics ranging from luxury lifestyle living to fashion shows and trends. A self-proclaimed Miami Beach fashion expert, she is also working on launching her first jewelry line, Boki Love. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.

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