Ventura Community celebrates Chinese New Year
As an orange gets tossed back and forth between the Chinese lion dancers, high-energy music fuels the performers, eventually leading them off the stage and into the audience. Weaving through rows of families, high school volunteers and other performers in the cultural showcase, the lion dance set the joyful tone for the rest of the Chinese New Year celebration. The Ventura County Chinese American Association [VCCAA] hosted the event at Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District’s community center on Feb. 14 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Everyone in attendance enjoyed singing, dancing, prize draws and traditional Chinese art to mark the beginning of the year of the horse.
About three months ago, the VCCAA began the planning process to make the celebration possible. Thomas Chu, VCCAA president, hopes that these events share Chinese culture with the community and help expand the association’s support. “Our main goal right now is to invite younger populations that are interested and want to learn Chinese. We’re going to have a class on a weekly basis where people can come and learn how to speak Chinese, do calligraphy and enjoy some Chinese culture. This is all free, and we’d like young blood to help us grow our association because we are a 50-year-old association, so members are aging,” Chu said.
Volunteers from local high schools donned red vests as they worked the event, but two specific volunteers wore a different uniform: mascot costumes. Jake Le, senior at Adolfo Camarillo High School and co-president of the AAPI Student Association, recruited his friend, Atom Blackston, a student at Rancho Campana High School, to volunteer with him. “I’m Chinese, so [being here helps me] experience the culture because I don’t get to see it much here in Camarillo,” Blackston said.
While Le is not Chinese himself, he is Vietnamese and feels that he is familiar with many aspects of Chinese New Year knowing what Lunar New Year celebration looks like in Vietnam. “I get to see the [small differences], and it allows me to understand Chinese culture a little bit more,” Le said.
Switching between English and Chinese, Richard Lu, a traditional Chinese artist, picked up a conversation with almost everyone who passed by his table. After leaving his job as a teacher in China, Lu came to the U.S., where he hosted art classes in his restaurant. “I love the Chinese culture, but I also love American people. There is a cultural mix [today] and people appreciate [each other],” Lu said.
The cultural showcase featured dance styles ranging from classical and modern to Mongolian folk dance. One group, Carnation Arts, performed a dance titled “Riding a Fine Horse Back to the Grassland.” The adult dance group was formed three years ago as a way for members to be active and socialize outside of work. Phoebe Li, the group’s dance teacher, believes that for those who want to learn something, it is never too late. “[My students] tell me very excitedly, ‘Teacher, you know what, when I get home, my friends, my husband, my children, say [I’ve] got something different, [my] posture is better,’” Li said.
Up until this point, the VCCAA has been defined by its members, not a physical place. They have been renting locations for events and meetings; however, starting in March, the association will have its own office space. “We’re going to have karaoke, Mahjong, ping pong, social gatherings, you know, just a place for our members if they want to come in,” Chu said.
