The Arcadia High School Chinese Parents Booster Club (AHSCPBC) put on a New Year celebration to be remembered this year. Taking place on Feb. 17 at the Arcadia Masonic Center, with dazzling performances, delicious traditional foods, and palpable excitement from the spirited crowd, this year’s annual fundraising dinner to celebrate the holiday of Chinese (or Lunar) New Year was a success. And on top of the outstanding experience created for guests, the AHSCPBC’s fundraising efforts brought in a large portion of their funds for the year, that will be spent on all kinds of school activities and donations. 

Unfazed by notable attendees—including our very own Arcadia High School (AHS) Principal Dr. Angie Dillman, Arcadia Unified School District (AUSD) Board of Education President Shirley Yee, and Arcadia Mayor April Verlato—and an enormous audience watching, performers young and old alike created a lively atmosphere and entertained the crowd. The program included everything from a traditional dance to upbeat vocal performances. 

To initiate the festivities, Fong’s Kung Fu School, led by AUSD Board of Education member Fenton Eng, put on a wonderful rendition of the customary Chinese New Year lion dance. The “lions”, puppeteered by several of his disciples, danced their way to the front of the room to Eng’s drumming. Upon demolishing a head of cabbage, and spraying the remains toward the AUSD Administration’s table, red pockets filled with money were distributed to the students and seniors in attendance.

Kung Fu Action Academy followed up with an awe-inspiring martial arts and acrobatics demonstration, featuring young kids—some as young as 8-years-old—flipping through the air on a trampoline and wielding prop swords in epic choreographed fights, as well as multiple musical acts. 

One of the singers that wowed the crowd was none other than AHS sophomore Mystic Inscho, who dazzled the crowd with “Gong Xi Gong Xi”, a celebratory Chinese New Year song. 

“It was an amazing experience. Honestly, my favorite part was eating the tang yuan for dessert. They were very good,” said Ingscho. “The food was delicious. The people were very nice. It was overall a very great event.” 

Overall, there was broad and diverse representation from AHS students, befitting an organization that does so much for the school. In addition to the many students in the audience, the AHS Pep Band and Orchesis dance team both performed, joining ranks of other AHS students volunteering and working at the event as well. Students from Seniors of Merit at Work, National Honors Society, and Interact Club helped out with serving as support staff to the busy organizers. The AHS Stagecraft students provided audio and lighting setup for the event.

“We had so much fun working the Chinese New Year party!” said AHS junior Emery Li, who worked as a Stagecraft Intern. “A lot of the same people from last year worked on this year’s event, so we knew it was going to be great, but the show this year was beyond what we expected.”

“The biggest success of the night was all the support from Chinese parents, our board members, and our donors, as an organization. It’s all teamwork, for the children,” said AHSCPBC Officer Wen Qi. 

In the 2022-2023 school year alone,  AHSCPBC gave out $62,260 in donations to AHS sports, clubs, and academic teams. It also provides an annual scholarship to graduating AHS seniors, and contributes to AHS Grad Nite funds. 

AHSCPBC Co-President Heidi Tong said, “The biggest impact that the Arcadia Chinese Parents Booster Club has on the AHS community is setting a good example to our children, showing that we work together with the school and community to make our city and schools a better place for our children. [Tonight] was an excellent event to show that.” 

Another Co-President, Pearl Cheung, and Assistant Principal Michelle Lew were among the women who took part in the Ladies’ fashion show, featuring AHSCPBC members and other members of the community wearing traditional Chinese dress. The group had their work proudly recognized and received great fanfare. 

The culmination of the night was the final auction and raffle drawing. In addition to the silent auction taking place throughout the event, attendees verbally bid on the elaborate floral centerpieces from the banquet tables, before the raffle drawing for various other prize bouquets, and even a new iPad Pro. To top off the night, every single guest received a beautifully designed and informative New Year’s special issue made by the advertising team and editorial team of the AHSCPBC.

All in all, guests were hugely pleased with the party. 

Former CPBC Chinese New Year Party Co-chair Grace Jiang offered high praise. “Parents have been diligently practicing singing and dancing every week, so I’m excited about this year’s shows. All these performances highlight the booster club’s valuable contributions to AHS,” stated Jiang.

“I think that we will be doing better each year. Nowadays, parents are more creative and more open, so everything will be top-tier!” said Jiang.

When asked what he was looking forward to the most on his first time attending the event, guest Huijiang Zhu stated, “I am looking forward to observing the festive spirit of Chinese New Year and sharing our heartfelt celebrations within our school community.” 

After months of preparations, starting as early as September, volunteers gave the 320 guests an undeniably grand experience. Congratulations are in order for the Chinese Parents Booster Club for planning such a great event. Happy Chinese New Year!