Art, movies, music herald Year of Ox
Slow, hardworking, relentlessly moving forward, the ox is an animal that gets the job done.
Which sounds like just what we all need to be this year. Jan. 26 is the Chinese New Year, and the Chinese zodiac proclaims this the Year of the Ox.
The Ox is a sign of prosperity, according to several Web sites, but it's prosperity achieved through patient, diligent work rather than get-rich-quick schemes. The two prior years, incidentally, were Rat and Pig — maybe there really is something to this Chinese zodiac.
People born in the Year of the Ox include Barack Obama, Meryl Streep, Flannery O'Connor, Billy Joel, Saddam Hussein, Bill O'Reilly, Eddie Murphy, James Gandolfini, Ciara, Jack Nicholson, David Blaine, Robert Spano, Mario Lopez, Gretchen Wilson, Tyra Banks and Colin Powell.
The Chinese New Year is also an opportunity for metro Atlantans to enjoy a range of activities.
METRO CELEBRATIONS
• College Night ARTBreak. Participants celebrate Chinese New Year with gallery viewing, music by "Beatrix*JAR," a kung fu film festival, and arts and crafts. Reservations recommended. 7 p.m.-midnight Saturday. $18; $8 students. High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4444, www.high.org.
• Chinese New Year for Kids. The Imaginators read "Sam and the Lucky Money" by Karen Chinn, and children make their own lucky red envelopes, sing and act out "Five Green Dragons" and enjoy a parade throughout the museum. 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday. Free with museum admission: $11; ages 1 and younger free. Imagine It Children's Museum, 275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive, Atlanta. 404-659-5437, www.imagineit-cma.org.
• Vega Quartet. Joined by traditional Chinese instruments the erhu and the pipa. 4 p.m. Sunday. $4. Michael C. Carlos Museum, 571 S. Kilgo Circle, Emory University, Atlanta. 404-727-5050, www.arts.emory.edu.
• Chinese New Year Festival. Dragon and lion dance, drum performances, authentic Chinese snacks and food, cultural arts and crafts, calligraphy demonstration, music, dance and opera performances. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 31-Feb. 1. $5 each day. Atlanta Chinese Culture Center, 5377 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee. 770-451-4456, www.atlantachineseschool.org.
