Davidson College students and faculty will present an evening of Asian culinary treats and dance performances to mark the start of the Year of the Rat on Saturday, Feb. 2. Alas, this year’s lunar New Year in Davidson will lack the fireworks of past years because of a drought-related ban on fireworks.

This is the college’s eighth year presenting a lunar New Year celebration, which was started in part to promote Davidson’s East Asian Studies Program. It’s sponsored by the program along with the Asian Cultural Awareness Association (ACAA), and the Dean Rusk International Studies Program.

EVENTS AT THE UNION

The festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 2 in Alvarez College Union Atrium with servings of bubble tea and East Asian food prepared by local restaurants. There will be face painting, ring tosses, origami instruction, and a prize raffle.

There will also be a fashion show, and a traditional lion dance in which performers parade in a costume in the shape of a lion’s body. The lion dance is rooted in a Chinese legend about a great monster that disrupted a small village. Because lions are considered good luck in Chinese culture, the Lion Dance is performed as a New Year’s ritual to prevent the monster from returning.

The celebration will conclude at 8 p.m.

Fuji Lozada, an associate professor of anthropology and director of Asian studies at the college, said the fire marshal has a burn ban in effect because of the drought which rules out fireworks this year.

The evening is designed to give the community insight into Asian culture and its New Year’s traditions. Asian people organize their festivals according to the Lunar Calendar, and celebrate the first day of the New Year on the night of its first full moon.

Admission is free. For more information, call 704-894-2440.