Celebrations to Bid Adieu to the Horse as the Year of the Ram Begins

The Year of the Ram will be celebrated through art, dance, film and storytelling in Chinese New Year celebrations in the San Gabriel Valley.

The old year, Year of the Horse, ends Thursday. The same day, the Children’s Services Department of the Bruggemeyer Memorial Library in Monterey Park will hold two programs for the new Year of the Ram, which is Year 4689 of the Chinese calendar.

At 3 p.m., children’s librarian Christina Yueh will present a Chinese story hour in Mandarin in the Story Hour Room. There will also be an explanation of the calendar’s 12-year cycle in which each year is represented by a different animal.

After the story hour, a 22-minute film entitled “A Glimpse of the Chinese New Year,” narrated in English by the late Prof. Li-Lien Chao, will be shown in the Friends Room. The library is at 318 S. Ramona Ave.

The Pasadena Library, 285 E. Walnut St., will hold a Chinese cultural celebration on Friday in the Ernestine Avery Children’s Wing. The new year will be observed with stories, songs and folk dances for children and adults.

On Feb. 21, art professor Shou Z. Wang will give a free lecture at 7:30 p.m. on the evolution of Chinese art from ancient to modern times in “Chinese Painting Yesterday and Today” in the Community Room of the Hacienda Heights Public Library, 16101 La Monde St. Wang is vice dean of the School of Design in Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, one of the leading art institutions of China.

The library is exhibiting traditional and contemporary Chinese painting and ceramics as part of the new year festivities. Artists on display include Shing-Hwei Hu, Hong Lu, Michael Soong, Chang Der Tsao, Shou Zhi Wan and Leh-Chin Hsu.

The display will last through March 30. The library is open Monday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m., Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Alhambra’s Chinese New Year’s Parade, which was scheduled for Feb. 23, was canceled by the executive board of the city’s Chamber of Commerce because of a lack of sponsors.

The parade would have featured high school bands and community organizations marching down Valley Boulevard. The chamber’s executive committee is considering a proposal to hold a New Year’s carnival instead, chamber employee Jay Luo said.