The long awaited return of the Lunar New Year Parade in Flushing, Queens finally kicked off at 11am on Feb.5th with much fanfare and celebration. Although the temperature was below freezing at the start of the parade, there were warm smiles and hearts all around the busiest part of Main St. It has been two years since in person parades were allowed in Flushing due to health concerns over the effects of Covid19. Parade organizers were quite diligent in keeping secret that the honored Grand Marshall would be NY Gov. Kathy Hochul. She was part of the VIP group carrying the parade banner as a symbolic gesture of unity and strength as NY leads the US in the recovery of the worst pandemic in a century. It would be unjust of me not to reflect on the over 900,000 US lives lost due to Covid19. It’s just not a number. It’s a family, it’s a mother , a father, a brother and a sister. At this point everyone knows someone that lost someone due to the virus that was supposed to “mysteriously disappear”. The return of this parade helps to bring some sense of normalcy back to NYC and specifically Flushing.
This year was the 27th year the Lunar New Year Parade takes place in Flushing. This parade has a large Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, and Singapore representation. Chinese astrology depicts 12 animals in the circle of life. This year on Feb 1st, the year of the Tiger began, specifically the year of the Black Water Tiger. The Tiger is a sign of strength and wisdom. The thousands of people lined up along the parade route were happy to see the dragons and dancing lions continue the ancient tradition of celebration of the New Year and upcoming Spring. Many local businesses and government agencies sent representatives to march in the parade. As always the largest group by far is the Falun Dafa group. They have hundreds of people in costume and have the largest marching band of the parade. The group is part of a Buddhist sect and always has a message of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. Unfortunately, they are banned in mainland China and thought of a cult in other sectors. My interaction with them has always been one of positivity and kindness. They always close out the parade with their amazing band and floats. Happy New Year everyone.
Written by: Albert Terc
Photos by: Albert Terc
NYC Parade Life 