The Lunar New Year draws near, and Amy Wong Mok, founder and CEO of the Asian American Cultural Center on Jollyville Road, said the center will celebrate 2016—the year of the red fire monkey—on Feb. 6 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The free event includes morning performances such as Taiko drums; a Guzheng—or ancient Chinese musical instrument—act; and Chinese, Hawaiian and Japanese dancing. Afternoon performances include Tai Chi and martial arts demonstrations and traditional Korean and Indian dancing. The event will also offer festivalgoers traditional New Year foods such as Chinese New Year cake made with sticky rice to symbolize lasting relationships and gold in color to symbolize prosperity, Wong Mok said. The monkey, part of the Chinese zodiac, symbolizes creativity and resourcefulness, but also restlessness, Wong Mok said. “You can’t tell a monkey, ‘no;’ you have to convince them,” she said. Each zodiac is also accompanied by an element. This year that element is fire, which stands for passion and energy, but it is a difficult element to control, Wong Mok said. The combination of fire and monkey will mean a highly energetic year, but one that will take some extra effort to maintain self-discipline, she said. “This is a year full of opportunity; we just need to be more focused,” she said. The Asian American Cultural Center has hosted the Lunar New Year celebration for 16 years.