"Ma" Year, Mahjong | 馬年麻將

Kickoff of the 2026 Lunar New Year celebrations as we enter the Year of the Horse (“mǎ” in Mandarin and Cantonese) with an afternoon of mahjong, special dishes and drinks, and festive crafts at Open Test Kitchen, hosted by Oakland Bloom (www.oaklandbloom.org) and The Mahjong Project (www.themahjongproject.com).

Ten mahjong tables will be available for Chinese mahjong open play, with some instruction available. Seating will be on a first come, first served basis, with an expectation to rotate after a few hands if all tables are full.

Bring a 1-pound (minimum) bag of rice (dried/shelf stable and unexpired) to donate to Oakland Bloom’s ongoing community food pantry to receive 26% off any drink. Food is distributed each week from OTK and rice is a favorite among neighbors.

Food from local Oakland Chinatown businesses will be available for sale:

• New year dim sum dishes from Big Dish Restaurant
• Red bean and mochi (lunar new year dessert) from Something Sweet
• A selection of LNY decor and red envelopes from New Discount (fka KV Discount)

We'll also have a calligraphy station set-up with brushes, markers, red paper and practice sheets! Create a Chinese character reference sheet for mahjong, or make a sign to hang in your home with an auspicious New Year saying.

Moments Book Co-op will be joining us with a selection of books, and Nicole’s book Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora will be available for sale and signing.

This is a family-friendly event. Indoor and outdoor seating will be available, weather permitting.

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About The Mahjong Project

Nicole Wong is the creator and founder of The Mahjong Project, an effort to preserve a small piece of her family history and bring more people into the joy of playing the game. She organizes pop-up mahjong nights across the Bay Area. Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora is her first book. Her work has been featured by Vogue, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, KQED, and more.

To learn more about The Mahjong Project, check out www.themahjongproject.com or @themahjongproject on Instagram.

About Oakland Bloom / Open Test Kitchen

Oakland Bloom is a nonprofit that supports working-class immigrant and diaspora chef-entrepreneurs to develop their food businesses. Through its project Open Test Kitchen, Oakland Bloom hosts a community kitchen hub, which offers accessible resources for chefs to prepare and share their foods, collaborate with one another, and build support. Oakland Bloom also hosts events that foster community connection , healing , resilience joy, and learning - both at Open Test Kitchen and through its neighborhood-based initiatives in Oakland Chinatown.

Learn more about Oakland Bloom and Open Test Kitchen at @otk_eats and @oaklandbloom on Instagram.

About Moments Cooperative

Moments Cooperative and Community Space opened in January 2021 on occupied Ohlone land (downtown Oakland, CA) to share much-needed physical space and resources for artists and organizers — particularly Black, Indigenous, people of color, LGBTQ+, low-income communities, and our unhoused neighbors. We are a not-for-profit cooperative that is volunteer-led and horizontally-run by and for QTBIPOC. We carry a curated selection of new and used books and zines by BIPOC and radical authors.

Moments Co-op intends to support QTBIPOC voices, needs, and dreams. We hope to be a welcoming and supportive environment for our communities to thrive. Visit https://www.momentscooperative.com/ or @moments.co.op

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