May your days be as glittery as a diamond, may your friends be as good as gold, may your heart stay as green as an emerald, and may your soul remain as pure as a pearl.
Chinese New Year Greeting
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Ice, Ice Baby
The World of Winter continues with the Valent-ICE which runs through Feb. 14. The event will feature more than 80 ice sculptures. As part of the World of Winter, there is also some incredible installations including the Singing Christmas Tree on Canal and Impulse on Monroe which is the light-up seesaws. Also tonight, from 3 – 8 p.m., will be a virtual Chinese New Year celebration hosted by the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Foundation.
LOVE.ART. HISTORY
Looking for something a little warmer this weekend? In honor of Black History Month, Woodland Mall is hosting a pop-up art exhibit by ArtXchangeGR and showing the documentary “Between the Trees,” about Idlewild, Michigan. The documentary was produced by WKTV Volunteer Rose Hammond at the WKTV studios. The event runs through Sunday, Feb. 14.
Go on a Stay Safe Adventure
Mainstee’s Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts received more than 300 masks for its current exhibition “Stay Safe.” Masks came from as far away as California and Colorado and as close as West Michigan as local resident Carol Grant and her grandson contributed to the project. Viewing is by appointment. The exhibit is up through Feb. 28.
Seeing Red
More than a quarter of the world’s population is celebrating Chinese New Year. From envelopes to lanterns to clothing, the color of the celebration is red. Why is that? According to the legend, Nian, a beast terrorized the villagers eating the crops, livestock and children. That is until the villagers learned that the beast was afraid of three things: fire, noise, and the color red. Red remains China’s good luck color as it is believed to scare away spirits of bad fortune.
