Chinese New Year Parade segment
CELEBRATION episode Chinese New Year Parade segment featuring David Thomas and Stephanie Mufson of East West Floats and Yumei Hou. PBS premiere December 11, 2015.
In San Francisco, the Chinese New Year festival has grown to be the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia. Started in 1860 by Chinese immigrants to America, the 150-year-old tradition of celebrating the Chinese New Year with a parade continues to thrive. East West Floats, with a staff of exceptional artists, create over 20 floats for the parade, estimated to draw more than a million spectators. The artists¹ dazzling ability to combine form with function comes together in an explosion of light and color as these floats glide through the nighttime San Francisco streets in a tribute to the important history of Chinese Americans and a celebration that connects us all.
Yumei Hou is a sculptor and renowned master of the ancient Chinese art of paper cutting. Hou has dedicated decades to learning, perfecting, and passing on the art of paper cutting in China and the United States. Her talent and dedication was recognized by the San Francisco Arts Commission in 2010, when she was selected to design and install a building-wide artwork for the Chinatown Central Subway, slated to open in the next several years.