On February 15th, Frederick High School hosted an event for the Asian Lunar New Year. Organized by an eight person committee, this Lunar New Year Celebration promised a food, and fun-filled time for all ages to enjoy.
This annual tradition, which began in 2007, is organized by the Asian American Center of Frederick. It originally started as small activities in malls, but has since expanded in its almost two decade run. Communications Director Mark Kraham stated that this year alone, the event had “roughly seventy-eight people on staff.”
On the Lunar New Year calendar, 2026 is the year of the horse, specifically the fire horse. This zodiac animal sign represents progress, passion, resilience, breaking patterns, and change.
The celebration hosted many different cultural performances. Twenty acts were featured and, according to Kraham, there were “more than 200 performers” attached to the event. These acts included a Beijing opera and a lion dance.
One performance, called the Korean Drum Demonstration, involved drummers running and jumping around in succession. After the drummers, people with disks and thin sticks would toss saucers high in the air, catching and balancing them on their rods.
A majority of the artists attached to these renditions were mostly professional dance groups but also consisted of high schoolers and even a Chinese preschool.
There were around ten different tables present. Most of these spaces were reserved for vendors selling clothes, toys, and food. A particular standout piece of merchandise was the commemorative fire horse stuffed animals.
Other tables advertised the sponsors of the event. Some of these included Patriot Federal Credit Union, and the Frederick News Post.
If attendees wanted something to eat, they could purchase some Asian cuisine from one of the many local providers, a few notable ones being My Thai, Lucky House, and The Urbana Lodge. Each offered options such as curry puffs, fried garlic dumplings, and mango sticky-rice.
Guests were also encouraged to sign a banner with “2026” inked on it to memorialize the year. This was a way to connect people with Asian heritage to those without.
The goal of this celebration was to preserve Asian heritage and appreciate the culture and customs accompanying it. With what was presented and exhibited at this event, one could say that that goal was attained in the best way.
Micah Mowry is a dude who likes to write stuff. That’s all you gotta know.