Happy Year of the Rabbit! On a warm morning on Jan. 28, Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Chinese Parents Booster Club (CPBC) hosted its first Lunar New Year Festival at the AHS courtyard. Taking place from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., families and individuals had four hours to have fun and enjoy games, crafts, raffle prizes, performances, and more. With a variety of activities, bright smiles appeared among the large crowds of people and laughter was heard everywhere throughout the courtyard. 

As visitors approached the courtyard, a mix of aromas from different food trucks filled the air. A variety of foods were available to purchase—including ice cream, churros, and garlic fries! Walking into the festival, there were many booths promoting their items. A popular booth sold handmade soaps themed for Chinese New Year and the upcoming holiday, Valentine’s Day. Other popular booths, hosted by Girl and Boy Scout troops, offered cookies and boba. 

Lastly, other stands were hosted by AHS clubs, like Robotics Club and AHS’ Choir. A fan favorite booth was the photo booth! Constantly crowded, the photos were free and there were many decorative props to enhance pictures and create goofy memories. Adjacent to the photo booth was a hanfu stand. A hanfu is a traditional Chinese dress that often represents a strong sense of national pride and identity. The hanfu stand was completely free, allowing anybody an opportunity to wear one and embrace Chinese culture and reflect pride. 

With many performances, guests were entertained for hours. Some notable performances included Orchesis’ performance, Choir, Drumline, the Chinese folk dance, the lion dance, and more! 

“The Lunar New Year Festival was so fun. I ate a lot of food and there were a lot of different activities and everyone was just feeling the vibe. Although I’m slightly biased, my favorite performances were definitely the choir performances,” excitedly shared junior Peter Zhang, one of the performers of AHS’ choir. 

The CPBC’s goal is to connect the school and Chinese-speaking parents. Holding many fundraisers similar to this festival, they hope to support varying school organizations such as Orchesis, Band, and Apache News. 

Ms. Tong, the CPBC’s co-president, shared her thoughts on the festival with Quill, “This fundraising event is awesome! We’re so happy to see so many people attend this event. This is the first time we’re hosting something like this, and we’re amazed at the turnout.” 

“Like [Tong] said, this is our first time hosting an event like this. It was a great turnout and although there were some hiccups, everything turned out well, and we’re so happy everybody had a good time and enjoyed their celebration with us,” added Ms. Cheung, the CPBC’s other co-president.

Thank you to the CPBC for hosting an amazing Lunar New Year Festival and special thanks to everyone who showed up and enjoyed their celebration. The CPBC is looking forward to hosting their next fundraising event, and hopefully, we will see you there!   

Photos courtesy of AHS Chinese Parents Booster Club on Instagram