It’s swine time: Celebrate the Year of the Pig at the Chinese New Year Spring Festival Carnival Wednesday, Feb. 6.

The free, public event at The University of Toledo will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Thompson Student Union Auditorium.

“The Chinese New Year Festival celebrates the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar,” Xinren Yu, international program coordinator in the UT Confucius Institute, said. “This is the Year of the Pig. People who are born in this year have a beautiful personality and are blessed with good fortune in life.”

Those who attend the event will have a chance to take part in more than a dozen cultural activities, including Chinese paper cutting, paper folding, calligraphy, ring toss and lucky bracelet making.

Several games such as ring toss and ping-pong also will be available to play.

“Participants will need to get involved to collect stamps for free meals and redeem prizes,” Yu said.

The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese and is a time for family reunions, according to Yu. Many of the traditional rites and activities during the Chinese New Year are meant to bring good luck to the household and long life to the family.

The Confucius Institute serves northwest Ohio by providing education in Chinese language and culture. It also offers opportunities for cultural exchange between China and the United States.