Adorning yourself in red for good luck? Deep-cleaning your home to rid it of negativity before a celebratory feast? These are signs that the Lunar New Year has begun.

The 15-day festival commemorates the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar, signifying the arrival of spring.

Official dates vary, but, this year, the celebration began on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Celebrated by over 2 billion people — primarily in East and Southeast Asian cultures — Lunar New Year focuses on family reunions, honoring ancestors and welcoming good fortune and prosperity into the coming year.

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, symbolizing a year of bold energy, rapid change, intense passion and a desire for freedom.

In honor of it all, events and gatherings are taking place around the Twin Cities for all to enjoy. Here’s a list of five to consider.

Celebration at the Mall of America

On Saturday, Feb. 21, and Sunday, Feb. 22, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m., the Mall of America is hosting its annual Lunar New Year festivities at the Huntington Bank Rotunda, located on the first floor of the Bloomington mall.

The celebration will showcase artistic performances, cultural presentations and activities such as cultural booths with calligraphy and other traditional art forms.

This year, students from local Chinese immersion schools along with a Dragon Dance and Drum Team, Peking Opera, Kung Fu artists and musicians from the University of Minnesota and Carleton College will be performing throughout the weekend.

A Miss Asia pageant will be held Sunday.

The event is free and open to all.

More information can be found by visiting mallofamerica.com.

Minnesota Orchestra performance

On Thursday, Feb. 26, from 7 to 10 p.m., The Minnesota Orchestra and a variety of guest artists will perform at the Minneapolis Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, in celebration of Lunar New Year.

The concert will explore themes of family, tradition and unity through lively orchestral music with a handful of special guests.

The concert will also include a traditional dragon dance, presented in partnership with the Alliance of Chinese Culture and Arts.

Ticket prices and further information can be found by visiting minnesotaorchestra.org.

​​Twin Cities Dumpling Feast

On Thursday, March 19, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Peking Garden Chinese Restaurant in St. Paul — located at 394 University Ave. W. — the fifth annual Twin Cities Dumpling Feast will be held in honor of Lunar New Year.

Related Articles

Apostle Island ice caves likely closed for season after storm

Stirring ‘Les Miserables’ resonates with resolve and sadness

Grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups accuses Hershey of cutting corners

Brazilian snowboarder Pat Burgener’s Olympic journey spans the mountains to music

Whether it’s a mini-sabbatical or an adult gap year, more people are taking extended work breaks

In Chinese culture, dumplings are considered lucky and symbolize wealth and prosperity due to their resemblance to a coin currency from a thousand years ago.

The Minnesota China Friendship Garden Society and the Association of Sino-American Neocultural Exchange invites the community to gather at Peking Garden and indulge in a 10-course Chinese banquet full of dumplings, potstickers and other gourmet Chinese food while enjoying Lunar New Year activities and performances by local musicians and Chinese cultural experts.

Registration for the event is required and can be completed by contacting Christina Deng Morrison at asane.culture@gmail.com or Zhou Chen at cxzhou.mn@gmail.com. The deadline to register is Monday, March 9.

Individual tickets start at $45. A table for 10 is $450.

More information can be found by visiting mnchinagarden.org or mnasane.org.

New exhibit at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

From Wednesday, Feb. 18, to Sunday, Aug. 30, the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, 2400 Third Ave. S., is opening a new exhibition in honor of the Chinese zodiac year.

The show, titled “Year of the Horse: Hoofbeats through Time,” celebrates the horses in Chinese art and culture by exploring the animal as both a creature and cultural symbol of strength, virtue and ambition.

The exhibition opens with a curator talk at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19.

A public tour of the exhibition will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28.

The exhibition is free and open to all.

More information can be found by visiting artsmia.org.

Celebration at Luce Line Brewing

Related Articles

Stirring ‘Les Miserables’ resonates with resolve and sadness

In a West St. Paul front yard, an oversized whistle sculpture calls for ‘ICE out’

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to play Target Center in March

Here’s why the Apostle Islands ice caves closed a day after opening

Skywatch: Romance in the stars

On Saturday, Feb. 21, from 1 to 5 p.m., Luce Line Brewing — located at 12901 16th Ave. N. in Plymouth — will be hosting a Lunar New Year celebration in partnership with the Chinese Heritage Foundation right at the taproom.

The family-friendly event will feature a traditional lion dance, a kung fu demonstration by the Golden Leopard Martial Arts Center, interactive cultural stations like dumpling-making, calligraphy bookmarks, lantern and opera mask crafts, zodiac activities, chopstick lessons and more.

The event is free and open to all.

More information can be found by visiting facebook.com/LuceLineBrewing.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya will also temporarily become acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an administration official said Wednesday.

The change was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the appointment hadn’t been made public.

Bhattacharya will be the third leader of the embattled CDC, the nation’s top public health agency, during President Donald Trump’s second term. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly fired then-CDC Director Susan Monarez last summer, less than a month after the Senate confirmed her for the job.

Related Articles

Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential run inspired generations to carry his message

Trump wants his Board of Peace to solve world conflicts. It still has a lot of work to do in Gaza

Bernie Sanders and Gavin Newsom become adversaries over push to tax California billionaires

Following Trump’s lead, some GOP states seek to limit environmental regulations

Trump administration appeals order to restore George Washington slavery exhibit in Philadelphia

Monarez, a longtime government scientist, later testified before a Senate committee that her dismissal came after she refused to sign off on Kennedy’s requested changes to the childhood vaccination schedule without data to back them up.

Deputy Health Secretary Jim O’Neill, a former investor, had been serving as the acting CDC director and overseeing those vaccine changes before his reported departure last week.

Bhattacharya is a health economist who, as a Stanford University professor, was an outspoken critic of the government’s COVID-19 shutdowns and vaccine policies. At the NIH, he oversees the largest public funder of biomedical research.

At a recent Senate hearing, Bhattacharya said childhood measles vaccination was “the best way to address the measles epidemic in this country,” and testified that he’d seen no evidence linking any single vaccine to autism.

Trump administration officials have said they planned to find a permanent CDC director, a job that requires confirmation by the Senate.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

MILAN, Italy — Before the puck dropped on the U.S.-Canada Rivalry Series three months ago, before the Americans romped through their first six games at the Milan Cortina Olympics, and before her engagement on Wednesday, Hilary Knight looked ahead to the gold-medal final with hope and anticipation.

How fitting it would be, the U.S. captain said in early November, for her Olympic career to end with one more showdown against Canada.

“It’s best on best. I think people really like it when our two teams face off,” Knight said.

“It’s a testament to the work that both have put in off ice and on ice. So, yeah, it would definitely be a win-win from a 30,000-foot view.”

Anticipation has become reality for the 36-year-old Knight as the border rivals and the sport’s global powers prepare to meet on Thursday. It will be their seventh gold-medal matchup in eight Olympics since women’s hockey debuted in 1998 — and the fifth for Knight, who has said these will be her final Games.

“It’s exciting. It’s fleeting. It’s all these emotions at the same time,” Knight said after practice Wednesday, hours after she proposed to U.S. speedskater Brittany Bowe.

“At the end of the day it’s just so special,” she added. “And I can’t tell you enough how amazing this group is.”

The Americans are favored to add a third gold medal after winning in 1998 and 2018. The team has a mix of experience, led by Knight, and young talent, including seven players still in college.

The U.S. has outscored its six opponents by a combined 31-1 while not allowing a goal in more than 331 minutes. That streak dates to Barbora Jurickova scoring on a breakaway in the second period of a tournament-opening 5-1 win over Czechia.

The Americans stand one win from cementing a legacy as one of the most dominant women’s hockey teams.

“If we get the job done (Thursday) night, I think that statement holds true,” Kendall Coyne Schofield said.

The defending champion Canadians haves shown signs of age and struggled through parts of the tournament. Canada is 5-1, having dropped a 5-0 decision to the U.S. in the preliminary round — its most lopsided loss and its first time being shut out in Olympic play.

Canada advanced to the final by eking out a 2-1 win over Switzerland, after which Swiss captain Lara Stalder said the winners looked “shaky” and “beatable.”

The Canadians acknowledge they’ve yet to play their best, and they know anything can happen in the final.

“This group does have it in us,” coach Troy Ryan said.

Added goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens: “It’s a new day. We’re all excited, and I know this team is going to play with a lot of pride and a lot of maturity.”

One plus for Canada is the return of Marie-Philip Poulin, who missed the loss to the U.S. with a right knee injury. Since her return, “Captain Clutch” has three goals in two games, including both in the win against Switzerland.

“I am ready,” Poulin said. “We’re all coming down to one game here, and it can go either way, and we all know that. The team is going to be ready to go deliver their game. And obviously we trust in this room.”

The U.S. has won seven straight against Canada dating to its preliminary-round and gold-medal victories at the world championships in April. The Americans followed with a four-game sweep of the exhibition Rivalry Series, outscoring Canada 24-7.

“It’s a nonfactor,” Ryan said. “We know we’d like to play better in those seven games. I don’t think they’re going to impact the gold medal a bit.”

Since 1998, Canada holds the edge with five Olympic and 13 world titles to the Americans’ two and 11.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — In the wake of devastating news for starter Pablo López, who has an elbow injury that seems likely to require season-ending Tommy John surgery, the phrase “next man up,” has been continuously thrown around in the Twins’ clubhouse.

The Twins believed that their rotation depth was a strength this seaosn, and now they’ll have to tap into it earlier than expected. As it sits now, with López out of the picture, the Twins have seven starting pitchers in the mix for five rotation spots, with some spots solidified and some up for grabs.

With Joe Ryan and Taj Bradley headed off to compete in the World Baseball Classic next month, the Twins should get an extended look at some of their rotation options. Here’s a look at that group.

Joe Ryan

Ryan established himself as an all-star starter last season, and with López out, he is at the top of the Twins’ rotation. The 29-year-old made 30 starts last year for the first time in his career, threw a career-high 171 innings and finished with a 3.42 earned-run average.

“If I can provide some guidance and some help for guys that need it, absolutely, I’m always going to be there,” Ryan said.

Bailey Ober

Ober is looking forward to this season after a difficult 2025 campaign marred by a hip issue that eventually forced a monthlong stint on the injured list.

He finished the season with a 5.10 ERA. He allowed 30 home runs, 14 in June alone. It was a far cry from the results the Twins have come to expect out of the right-hander, who has been among their most consistent in previous years.

Taj Bradley

The Twins acquired Bradley from the Rays in the trade deadline deal that sent Griffin Jax to Tampa Bay, and they let him briefly acclimate to the organization at Triple-A before calling him up.

Aside from Ryan and Ober, Bradley has the most big league experience of the younger group, spending much of the past three seasons pitching at the major league level. He made six starts with the Twins in August and September to mixed results, but the early returns in camp have been promising.

“(There) were so many things Taj did well (Monday),” manager Derek Shelton said earlier this week. “His stuff looked really good, first and foremost. Hitters did not get great swings on him.”

Simeon Woods Richardson

Woods Richardson made one major league appearance in 2022 and in 2023 before staking out a claim to a rotation spot in 2024. The starter made 28 starts for the Twins that year and 22 (23 games) last year.

Many of his starts were limited to five innings or fewer last year, but he had a particularly strong finish, posting a 2.33 ERA across 27 innings  while turning in a couple of his longest outings. The 25-year-old enters this year out of minor league options.

Zebby Matthews

Matthews, who is slated to start the Twins’ spring training opener on Friday against the Gophers, made 16 starts last season for the Twins, missing time with a shoulder strain. Though he started the season in Triple-A, Matthews spent much of the summer pitching for the Twins.

David Festa

Festa was hampered by shoulder issues throughout 2025, eventually receiving Botox injections late last season to treat a case of thoracic outlet syndrome. He has been throwing bullpen sessions, but his health is still a question mark. Between injuries and stints at Triple-A, Festa last year made 11 appearances in the majors, 10 starts, and posted a 5.40 ERA.

Mick Abel

Abel, 24, was acquired From Philadelphia as part of the return for Jhoan Duran at the last trade deadline. He made 10 major league appearances last year, eight starts, and could be the most likely candidate to begin the season back in Triple-A.

Shelton was raving about what he saw from Abel on Tuesday, citing his “electric stuff,” and the fact that the first pitch out of his hand was a 98 mph sinker to Byron Buxton.

“I’m coming in here and competing for a spot,” Abel said. “Whether I make it or not, I’m just here every day to get better and compete.”

Related Articles

After frustrating free agency, Andrew Chafin competes for spot in Twins’ bullpen

Twins look for “next man up,” in wake of Pablo López injury news

Twins’ Pablo López likely to miss entire season

Twins owner Tom Pohlad arrives at spring training, aims to ‘set a new culture’

Pablo López experiences elbow soreness as Twins kick off full-team workouts