New year festival brings good luck

Editor's note: Be sure to check under photo tab for complete set of photos.

Supporters of the Chinese Immersion Program at Naselle/Grays River Valley School District and other community members gathered at the old Rosburg School at Johnson Park to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Saturday.

The Chinese zodiac has a 12 year cycle. Each year is denoted by a different animal, and 2016 is the Year of the Monkey. There will not be another Year of the Monkey until 2028.

Children played games and posed with a monkey balloon. They chased and rough housed in the halls and in the gym and the laughter was contagious. Meanwhile, parents checked out and purchased artwork created by N/GRV school students, signed up for raffles and bid for items in a silent auction.

Jean Tan, one of the teachers from China, looked up names and translated them into the Chinese alphabet. Participants were welcome to practice writing their name on a classroom board. Nearby, her colleague Scott Zhu greeted students and visitors and showed them around the classroom, which also had stations to practice Chinese characters or learn about Chinese culture.

Volunteers in the kitchen were busy serving good food provided by Golden Luck Restaurant. The menu included egg flower soup, pork fried rice with vegetables, sweet and sour chicken or beef, General Tso's chicken or beef, chicken and beef special chow mein, barbecue pork and vegetables, sauteed vegetables and fortune cookies. There was also a special wine and beer bar where they served lemonade and oysters on the half shell by Goose Point Oysters.

In the evening, Sifu David F. Leong of Northwest Kung Fu and Fitness and some of his students performed a Chinese Lion Dance.

The Chinese Lion Dance is considered a blessing, granting the whole town with luck for the year. Drums, cymbals and a gong struck a loud but exhilarating rhythm in unison.

Sometimes they led the choreography of the lions, sometimes they were instructed by the lions. The dance began as the lions woke from a slumber. They greeted each other in play and then began to greet the audience, eventually moving all around the room, allowing people to touch them for luck.

The group from Seattle then gave a presentation on kung fu. Leong gave a brief history of the martial art before asking each student to come forward and perform a series of movements. According to Leong, the chief purpose of kung fu is health, fitness and discipline.

Finally, the lions were brought out again, and Leong welcomed the crowd to come and touch the 20 pound masks, an act which would surely grant the person another year of good luck.