Hundreds of citizens around Malden and the Greater Boston area gathered at the Jenkins Auditorium on Saturday January 21st to celebrate and support the Chinese Lunar New Year. Performers of various ages and walks of life displayed their musical, dance, and vocal talents as in reverence and appreciation for Chinese culture in this annual gathering organized by the Chinese Culture Connection, also referred to as the CCC. This was also the “most important event of the year” that Malden High School’s Asian Culture Club organized in collaboration with the CCC.
The CCC was founded by the Massachusetts Council in collaboration with the Lenny Zakim Fund and the Adelaide Breed Bayrd Foundation, three organizations focused on bridging together communities in Boston. The goal of the Chinese Culture Connection is to promote diversity in the city of Malden and surrounding areas while uniting Chinese and American communities. The organization hosts various programs for youth and adults and have a big focus on supporting the Chinese immigrant population in Malden. They offer programs such as school and community workshops, Saturday classes and summer camp, cultural dialogue series, and Youth Leadership and Mentoring programs. These programs extend to all racial backgrounds with the aim of educating citizens of Chinese culture. There next program will be their New Year Celebration at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on February 4th from 10-4pm.
This year’s Malden Annual Lunar New Year Celebration was for the Year of the Rooster as it was displayed on the event’s program. The event was a four hour long gathering of citizens and performers of a wide range of ages and extending from Malden Senior Center to the Students of Little Dragon at the Beebe School in Malden. There were also performers from other organizations around Malden such as the Wah Lum Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy, North East Rhythmic School of Gymnastics and Dance, Andover Chinese School Choirs, Malden High School Asian Army, and Malden High School Asian Culture Club, to name a few.
Many MHS students from the Asian Culture Club worked tirelessly to prepare for the annual event. Some arrived at the building from as early as 11am and stayed until as late as 6 pm in preparation and conclusion of the event. Many club members doubled as performers: student played guitar, some sang, and others danced such as the Malden High School Asian Army. The MHS is a dance team not in collaboration with the Asian Culture Club. They performed a number called “Blood Sweat and Tears” by BTS. They were seen in the auditorium from as early as noon rehearsing for the show.
The Malden High School Asian Culture Club had a large role to play in this event. The event is hosted by MHS Latin teacher Julie Snyder and is attended by a handful of culturally diverse students. This clubs hosts events such as Sushi Workshops, Noodle Workshops. Head of the club senior Emily Zhou explains how the club “is not limited to just Asians [and] welcomes a lot of other cultures.” Zhou joined the club as a freshman because she wanted to “learn more about [her] culture as well as other cultures.” Zhou says that she believes this year’s celebration “went smoothly…considering every year [the event] is crazy and chaotic.”
Check out more photos from the Lunar New Year celebration here.
