13th Flushing Lunar New Year Parade Draws Crowds
Thousands of people- Asian-Americans by birth and by choice- lined 37th Avenue from Union Street to Main Street in Flushing last Sunday, February 10 to celebrate the start of the Lunar New Year. The 13th annual Flushing Lunar New Year parade celebrated the Year of the Rat and marked the start of the year 4706 on the Asian calendar. Chinese astrology holds that people born in the Year of the Rat will be smart, industrious, and resourceful. City Councilmember John Liu one of the parade's grand marshals, noted that many people had come to the parade despite rain. State Senator Frank Padavan called the parade "a chance for the rest of us to get into the act". Post-parade activities took place in Korea Village and the Flushing Mall.

Photo Vinny Du Pre