We’re overboard with excitement! Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) with a whole week of festivities, including our IN-PERSON Dragon Boat Family Festival on Saturday, June 4th from 2-5pm. Join MOCA for an afternoon full of arts & crafts, storytelling, and scavenger hunts! Learn about dragon boat racing; design your own buoyant boat; learn to wrap zongzi; stuff a fragrant, lucky xiāng bāo; and much more family fun!
Click here to sign up for free. Advance registration highly recommended, as space is limited.
Check back shortly for the full schedule of events.
Please note: your safety , and that of our team, continue to be our top priority, so at this time masks are required for all staff and all visitors age 2 and over. Click here for more information on MOCA’s visitor guidelines and safety protocols.
Sweet & Savory Snacks: Zongzi Wrapping with Cookbook Author Simon Fan| 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Learn why zongzi—delicious, pyramid-shaped rice bundles wrapped in bamboo leaves—are wrapped and eaten together with loved ones during the Dragon Boat Festival. Join cookbook author Simon Fan as he teaches us how to make some sweet red bean zongzi (粽子) in the shapes of a pyramid and a pillow. These sticky, festive treats will leave your stomach and heart filled with glee!
About the Author
A Shanghai native and longtime New Yorker, Simon Fan is the creator of SoyRiceFire.com, a site dedicated to Chinese recipes, ingredients, and cooking techniques. His cookbook, Food and Cooking of Shanghai: Recipes and Stories of China’s Most Dynamic City, will be published in June on Amazon.
Warm Up with Paddles Up! with the United East Athletics Association | 2:30 PM**
Discover the origins of dragon boat racing and learn what it takes to be part of a dragon boat team with members from the United East Athletics Association. Meet experienced dragon boat racers, explore authentic equipment, and learn about the roles of dragon boat crew members and how dragon boat racing has evolved over time during this interactive session.
MOCAKIDS Storytime: Ready, Set, Dragon Boat! | 3:30 PM
“快! 快! Kuài! Kuài! Hurry! Hurry! Row faster!” These are the cheers you might hear at a dragon boat race. The Dragon Boat Festival marks the arrival of summer on the lunar calendar. Let’s welcome summer together by learning about all the festivities this holiday has to offer in Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival by Sanmu Tang and Gung Ho! By Susan Hughes. Bring your cameras for a special photo opportunity.
Dragon Boats for Duanwu Circle Time with Crystal Huang | 4:30 PM
Learn the cultural significance behind the Dragon Boat Festival with bilingual author Crystal Huang of MyPeachTot. Together, uncover the meaning behind the name “Duānwǔ” and find out why is dragon boat racing part of the celebration.
Crystal Huang grew up in New York’s Chinatown and now lives with her husband and two kids in the beautiful Hudson Valley, NY. She is the creator of Imagine World, an interactive sound book to help kids learn Mandarin Chinese. Her goal is to break cultural barriers and build a more inclusive community to raise confident and happy children, no matter what languages they speak.
Creepy Crawly Bug Hunt
Some people consider the Dragon Boat Festival (also called the Double Fifth Festival) to be one of the unluckiest days of the year. Join MOCA on a gallery hunt to drive away the five poisonous pests and protect the museum from bad luck. Be sure to bring your xiāng bāo 香包 for good luck!—and a flyswatter!
Dragon Boat Doodles for Heart of Dinner
Decorate a brown kraft bag with illustrations and a thoughtful message to bring cheer to elders in the community who receive Heart of Dinner’s nourishing meals.
Summer Festival Watercolors with Teaching Artist Yu Rong
Summer brings longer days and more sunlight! Using light and shadow, paint a watercolor inspired by the scented herbs and festive flowers hung in homes during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Fragrant Fortune
Stuff your own good luck charm! Fill a festive fabric sachet (香包 xiāng bāo) with fragrant dried flowers and aromatic herbs that are sure to please the senses.
Double Fifth Fans
Did you know the Dragon Boat Festival is considered one of the unluckiest days of the year? To ward off bad luck, some families hang images of Zhong Kui—a mythical deity known for scaring away ghosts and evil spirits in their homes. Create your own paper fan adorned with Zhong Kui’s lucky symbols.
Don’t Rock the Boat
Design a floatable mini dragon boat from popsicle sticks, foil, and duct tape. Will your boat be seaworthy? Test it out in our mini-pool!
Emojify Your Zongzi
Using clay, markers, and a little imagination, create your own zongzi cartoon character inspired by this beloved holiday food.
**Limited capacity.
MOCA’s Family Festival Series is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
