On 17 February 2026, I photographed the 28th annual Chinese New Year fireworks ceremony and cultural festival in New York’s Chinatown, which took place on the basketball court at Sara Roosevelt Park. Numerous dances and rituals marked the beginning of the ceremony, before the many elected officials of the City of New York, as well as representatives of invited community and civic organisations, took turns delivering speeches of praise. The show, where red and gold were the dominant colours, was punctuated by a parade of dragons inside and outside the park. At the end of the speeches, a dragon was painted by those present on the stage to commemorate a good year. Then, two poles were quickly erected to allow one person to hold the dragon aloft, to which a banner with Chinese inscriptions and symbols was added along its entire length. Finally, in the centre, the festival reached its climax with a parade of many people dressed as dragons to the sound of drums. The highlight was the launch of a huge fireworks display on the other side.
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