As WashU students, we have the opportunity to interact with a variety of people from different backgrounds. We simply need to seek opportunities to learn about them in clubs, campus seminars, DEI programming, and classes, to name a few.

The annual Lunar New Year Festival (LNYF) show took place this past weekend from Friday, Jan. 31 to Sunday, Feb. 1. Students celebrated East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures in a show which consisted of 15 acts, ranging from dance to percussion. This year’s theme was “Interwoven,” a tribute to the Year of the Snake.

Vibrant colors, exciting acts, and lively music will soon light up the stage at Edison Theater this Friday (Jan. 31) and Saturday (Feb. 1) when students take center stage for the Lunar New Year Festival (LNYF), a yearly celebration of East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures.

With only a short time between the planned campus reopening and the Lunar New Year Festival’s scheduled performance, the group has had to make changes to their process.

The club adapted their performance beautifully to follow COVID-19 guidelines and managed to perform a very cohesive program despite the need to perform completely virtually.

Explored through energetic dance performances and a moving skit, the theme of finding belonging was the major theme that tied LNYF together.

This year’s Lunar New Year Festival, “Emerge,” focuses on overcoming challenges going into the new year.

What started with fireworks bursting across Mudd Field ended in an incredible production featuring more than 200 members of the Wash. U. community.

The Lunar New Year, which marked the start of the year of the rooster on Jan. 28, has been celebrated for centuries by people of eastern and southeastern Asian descent worldwide. This year, the cultural performance commemorating the holiday, “Lunar New Year Festival: Rise,” will take place in the Edison Theater on Friday, Feb. 10 and Saturday, Feb. 11.

To all those who attended Lunar New Year Festival (LNYF) last weekend: I am sure you would understand why this show amazed me at every single step. To those who didn’t: I am sorry you missed out on the chance to watch such a high-energy, vibrant cultural showcase. I hope that by reading this you vicariously feel the thrill of the performance.