“Year of the Dog” Annual Lunar New Year Celebration

February 1st, 2018

(Santa Fe, NM) -- Mark your calendar to celebrate the “Year of the Dog” at the Museum of International Folk Art Annual Lunar New Year Celebration in the afternoon of Sunday, February 18 on Museum Hill in Santa Fe. Activities begin at 1:00 P.M. and continue through 4:00 P.M.  Admission to the event is free to everyone, thanks to funding from the International Folk Art Foundation and the Museum of New Mexico Foundation

In the traditional Chinese calendar, each year is represented by a zodiac animal. 2017 was the Year of the Rooster, and 2018 brings the Year of the Dog. Dog is the eleventh in the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese Zodiac.

The Year of Earth Dog starts February 16, 2018 and lasts through February 4, 2019. The Years of the Dog include 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042.  The Chinese regard the Dog as an auspicious animal, man’s friend who can understand the human spirit and obey its master regardless of socio-economic standing. The Year of the Dog symbolizes the coming of fortune.

Planned activities for the Museum of International Folk Art Year of the Dog Annual New Year celebration include:

• 1:00-4:00 P.M. - Tibetan Prayer Flag Hands-On Printing activity with Lama Gyurme;


• 1:00 P.M. & 3:30 P.M. - Quang Minh Temple Lion Dance Group Parade;


• 1:30 P.M. -  Mochi Tsuki Traditional Mochi Rice Cake Pounding presentation by Santa Fe JIN


• 2:30 P.M. - Santa Fe Wadaiko, Taiko Drumming;

Refreshments will include Mochi Rice Cake & Tea.

The Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Human Society will also have a mobile unit onsite, sharing educational resources.

About the Museum of International Folk Art: http://www.internationalfolkart.org/ Founded in 1953 by Florence Dibell Bartlett, the Museum of International Folk Art’s mission is to foster understanding of the traditional arts to illuminate human creativity and shape a humane world. The museum holds the world’s largest international folk art collection of more than 150,000 objects from six continents and over 150 nations, representing a broad range of global artists whose artistic expressions make Santa Fe an international crossroads of culture. For many visitors, fascination with folk art begins upon seeing the whimsical toys and traditional objects within the Girard Collection. For others, the international textiles, ceramics, carvings and other cultural treasures in the Neutrogena Collection provide the allure.  The museum’s historic and contemporary Latino and Hispano folk art collections, spanning the Spanish Colonial period to modern-day New Mexico, reflect how artists respond to their time and place in ways both delightful and sobering. In 2010, the museum opened the Mark Naylor and Dale Gunn Gallery of Conscience, where exhibitions encourage visitors to exchange ideas on complex issues of human rights and social justice. A division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. 706 Camino Lejo, on Museum Hill in Santa Fe, NM 87505. (505) 476-1200. Hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily, May through October; closed Mondays November through April, closed Easter Sunday,