The Lawrence community can ring in the Year of the Horse at the KU Center for East Asian Studies’ New Year Festival, which will feature giveaways, performances from local organizations, activities and more.
KU student organizations including KU Taiko, K-pop group KU Karisma, KU Lion Dance and more will perform. Other featured performances will include a Chinese dance and Korean fan dance, and a duet by KU Professor Yuka Naito on harp and Jun Brewer on violin.
Attendees will get a chance to participate in games such as Hoo Hey How/Bầu cua cá cọp, a traditional dice game. Button-making, Nenga hagaki (Japanese New Year post cards), Chinese calligraphy, wish ribbon and fortune pouch making, horse and cat origami and coloring activities will also be provided. There will also be raffles and a silent auction.
Although the event is free to the public, giveaways will be first-come, first-served. Red envelopes, also known as li xi, will be given to the first 200 attendees. The envelopes will include coupons from local businesses. The first 50 attendees will receive gift bags filled with envelopes, candy, snacks and more.
The event is set for 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17 on the fifth floor of the KU Memorial Union, 1301 Jayhawk Blvd.
For updates and more information, see the Center for East Asian Studies’ website or Instagram, @kueastasia.
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Hannah Loub (she/her), reporting intern with The Lawrence Times since January 2026, is a journalism and global and international studies major at the University of Kansas. She is currently the lead digital producer for KUJH and worked as a beat reporter for the University Daily Kansan. Read her work for the Times here.
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