Arcadia Chinese Association Celebrates the New Year at Spring Festival

Steady drum beats echoed throughout the Saturday for a dazzling display of Chinese culture and community cohesion. Hosted by the Arcadia Chinese Association, the annual Spring Festival celebrates Chinese New Year and the coming of spring. Shoppers stopped around the merry-go-round for an afternoon program of dancing, singing and wood-splitting Tae Kwon Do demonstrations.

Angela Zhong of Arcadia, who immigrated from China and has lived in America for about six years now, was happy with the showcase, believing that cultural events like these help immigrant families acclimate to living in a new country.

“Immigrants from China, Hong Kong, they enjoy the show and they feel back to family,” said the 19-year-old Zhong.

Also available for participants were tables with information on Tai Chi classes, Chinese Zodiac fortune telling and Chinese art demonstrations. Chinese calligraphy signs with characters standing for love, peace, harmony, happiness, fortune and luck were also painted and given to participants. Among the participants was , who “fed” the dragons red envelopes of luck as well as commemorated the ACA with an award for their successful efforts this year.

“This is important because this is one way for us to reach out to the community and we want to have different ways to reach out,” Edward Wong, the president of ACA, said. 

Serving Arcadia for the past 30 years, the Arcadia Chinese Association is a non-profit association made up of volunteers with the mission statement of "bridging the cultural gaps and maximizing the harmony and benefits of an ethnically diverse community," through promoting Chinese culture, supporting educational and charitable events, as well as providing assistance to Chinese residents with understanding American culture and tradition.

The ACA is very active, hosting and participating in over 30 events each year to support different facets of the community. Some of these events include the Firefighter’s Pancake Breakfast, the Mother’s Day Tea Party, the Halloween Candy Drive and Relay for Life.

“We supported the hospital, we supported the high school giving scholarships, we supported the Red Cross, and so we have all these contacts,” listed Wong. “We appreciate the Police Department, the Fire Department. This is a way we can reach out to people of different walks of life,” he added.

The ACA seems to have achieved this mission. Joe Irwin of Pasadena, who typically does not celebrate Chinese New Year, was a first time participant of the festival and impressed by the rich expression of Chinese culture.

“I thought it was great, everything--the Tae Kwon Do was wonderful, the dancing, everything, it was good,” Irwin said.

Earlier this month, the ACA presented gift bags to 413 City of Arcadia employees at the City Employee Appreciation Program ceremony that took place at the beginning of a City Council Meeting. On Feb. 18, the group will host the Senior Citizen Luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Arcadia Community Center, concluding Chinese New Year celebrations with Arcadia’s seniors.

For a great photo gallery of the event, click here.