Asian communities to celebrate Year of the Tiger with artwork, decorations, events in Toronto
CBC
Asian communities in Toronto are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year for a second year in a row under pandemic restrictions.
It's the Year of the Tiger.
A number of organizations are marking the year through artwork, decorations and cultural events and organizers are hopeful that celebrations next year will be less subdued. This year, there will be a mix of online and live events.
The Lunar New Year in 2022 is on Feb. 1. Every Lunar New Year is named after one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.
The Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto is preparing a virtual spectacle, complete with traditional singing, music and dancing. The taped event will be livestreamed on Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. on its website.
"I'm really looking forward to an in-person event in 2023," Alan Lam, chair of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto, said on Monday.
"This year is the Year of Water Tiger, which represents power, courage, confidence and leadership and strength," he added.
"We're looking forward to this backdrop to push the pandemic away from us and move forward to a brand new year of 2022."
The Toronto Chinatown Business Improvement Area, for its part, is partnering with local artists to present the "Yue Moon Lantern Exhibition: Tiger with Wings," located at the second entrance of Dragon City Mall., 519 Dundas St. W. The art project is the work of 150 people who took part in a community workshop.
Tonny Louie, chair of the Toronto Chinatown BIA, said the tiger is a symbol of strength and is known for its tremendous energy and passion. The community needs that energy and passion and a better year in 2022 because repeated lockdowns and the border shutdown devastated Chinatown, he added.
Forty per cent of business in the city's Chinatown comes from tourists, Louie said.
"This has been a very difficult year for us," Louie said. "People are looking forward to a better year. If the tiger comes along and accompanies us for the next 12 months, I think we will be definitely in better shape."
The Chinatown BIA will also host a live lion dance performance on Feb. 5, from 12 noon to 3 p.m., outdoors in front of Chinatown Centre "to chase away the bad spirits and negativity of last year" and to welcome a new year.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Transit Commission is decking out four buses and a streetcar with designs that celebrate the year and messages of good fortune for the year ahead in several Asian languages.
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