Gong hei fat choy! Xin nian kuai le! What a spectacular start to the Year of the Snake! 💚🐍
A major event of Chinese Senior Program is the celebration of Lunar New Year! Last week, January 29th was a burst of colourful traditions and joy! We had incredible performances such as the mesmerizing Lion dance performed by the Wong Kun Lion Group. The Lion Dance is a traditional Chinese dance performed on special occasions. The lion represents; power, courage, wisdom, and prosperity. It brings good luck and chases away evil spirits. A head of green lettuce symbolizes good fortune and it is believed that the Lion delivers the wealth by distributing the lettuce amongst the audience. He is accompanied by the Big Buddha who leads and tames him while spreading red envelopes to the people. Touching the lion’s head is believed to bring one good health, wealth and happiness!
The Strathcona Tai Chi group put on a spectacular Tai Chi performances for us! This group is led by Michelle Luo, an 86-year-old community figure. She is DEWC’s Tai Chi program instructor as well as the leader of the group of 20-30 women who meet every day in Strathcona park, rain or shine, to practice Tai Chi. Michelle is a certified instructor and an accomplished dancer herself in modern dance and Latin dances. Some of the women from the Wong Kun Lion group practice daily with the Strathcona Tai Chi group. All these women are connected to each other by their commitment to martial arts and fitness!
We were also witness to some amazing forms of dances by Eva Cho, who has been doing traditional Chinese dancing since she was a little girl! She is the instructor of the DEWC’s Aerobic Dance Movement and has taught many forms of traditional dance. Before joining DEWC, she was an instructor in Winnipeg after she immigrating to Canada. She performs all over the city at various community events; including the Roundhouse and Carnegie.
We would like to take a moment to extend our deepest gratitude to Jenny Kwan, Member of Parliament for Vancouver East for making sure that all the guests, women and friends who came to take part in the celebrations received their red envelope for good luck and prosperity!
We also had tasty food, made by our incredible kitchen staff: featuring Seafood Fried Rice, Dumplings, Spring Rolls, and Egg Tarts. Thank you to all our guests, performers, staff, volunteers, and friends for attending such a wonderful event. Here’s to continuing traditions, spreading love and light in the year ahead. 🐍🎉