Decatur Lunar New Year

Last batch of fire horses — and what a way to close it out. 🐴🔥

In the Lunar New Year calendar, each year is connected to an animal that represents certain qualities. 2026 is the Year of the Horse — and these kids showed us exactly what that means.

Thank you to every child who picked up a pencil, crayon, or marker and gave us their vision. You made this festival even more special.

🗳️ Still time to vote: decaturlny.com/gallery
🖼️ See every entry at Ebster Recreation Center lobby

Artists in this post: Noah Barolli, Robinson Reid, Ryland Perry, Sebastian Lamb, Sofina T, Wren Reid, Wren Wallace, Lila Ratcliff-Pham

More fire horses from our 2026 kid's drawing contest. 🐴🔥
Swipe to learn what makes the Fire Horse special — passion, creativity, transformation, bold leadership — and then see how these young artists made it their own.

🗳️ Cast your vote at decaturlny.com/gallery
🖼️ See the full gallery in person at Ebster Recreation Center lobby

Artists in this post: Emma Mojica, Eli Tolentino, Isaac Britt, Autumn Okunoren, Kaiha Xu, Amelie Shaw, Bain Unangst, Cato Unangst

These kids brought the fire horse to life — and we are so grateful.

Our drawing contest was a bright spot of this year's Decatur Lunar New Year festival, and while we didn't get a chance to share all the entries before March 1st, we didn't want a single one to go uncelebrated. Every submission deserved to be seen.

So here they are. 33 young artists, ages 6–13, who imagined what the Year of the Fire Horse means to them. We are in awe.

🗳️ Vote for your favorite at decaturlny.com/gallery
🖼️ See all the drawings in person at the lobby gallery, Ebster Recreation Center

Artists in this post: Azzah, Adam Guttman-Elk, Danielle Guttman-Elk, Oliver Ratcliff-Pham, Dot Shields, Terrie Kwun, Paloma Stolfi, Anna Schoeman, Davis Acton

Thank you Dean Hesse Decaturish.com for always capturing our festival’s spirit!

Year of the Fire Horse: Decatur celebrates Lunar New Year Attendees were able to experience customs from Vietnam, South Korea, China, Thailand, Japan, and the Philippines at the Decatur Lunar New Year festival.