Get ready to make some noise to welcome the Chinese/Lunar New Year, get inspired by an unusual design competition and more.

Financial District

19th Annual New York City Canstruction Competition
Canstruction is a unique way of showcasing some of the city’s best architectural and design talent while providing food for those who need it. Bring a can of food as a donation and check out this exhibition of amazing structures created from cans–they’re a sight to behold.
Through February 10, 10AM-6PM
World Financial Center Winter Garden, 200 Vesey Street
$Free

Lower East Side/Chinatown & Upper East Side

Chinese Lunar New Year Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival
The Chinese New Year brings a colorful parade and is preceded by celebrations and fireworks in Downtown Manhattan and throughout the city. Join the fun, festivities, food events and firecracker celebrations. Kids are a huge focus, and there are lots of events for families, like the Asia Society’s Moon over Manhattan Family Day on February 9.
Sunday, February 10, 11AM
Sara Roosevelt Park (Grand and Forsyth Streets)
$Free

Broadway Upper West Side

A Night at the Abbey
Popular PBS period drama Downton Abbey is the inspiration for this evening of selected shorts and readings by Broadway actors. If you’re a fan, this event may be right up your Abbey. Actors will read selections from books that parallel the lives of the Crawley family and their servants, with special guests and more.
Wednesday, February 6, 7:30PM
Peter Jay Sharpe Theater at Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway
Tickets: $15-28

Greenwich Village

You’re Not a Tourist: How to Live in NYC Like a Local
If you're new to the Big Apple or want to explore it beyond the surface, this unusual class will jumpstart your New York experience by helping to hone your NYC living skills, including strategies and tools for meeting new people and building your social and professional networks, an introduction to NYC's underground / DIY nightlife scene, the city’s most quirky oddities and surreal spaces, how to live well for less and more.
Monday, February 4, 7:30-8:30 PM
Space-4-Work, 214 Sullivan Street
$15