Local Sponsor Ad

Houston Chinese New Year Festival - 1.28.2006

This year's Chinese New Year Festival was held at the Houston Chinese Community Center on January 28, 2006. Thousands of people showed at the community center to celebrate the year of the dog.

Miya Shay of Houston ABC13 News was the Master of Ceremonies and began the day off with a spirited introduction. The Chinese New Year festival drew in people of all ages and genders. Quite a few patrons wore traditional Chinese New Year gowns and clothing's. Kids wore Chinese "shi pao" on stage when they performed. The Mayor of Houston, Bill White, was also in attendance at the opening ceremonies making a keynote speech.

There were many performances and entertainment. Performances include Lion Dance, Mitsi School of Dance, Shaolin Kung Fu, Dragon Dance, Houston Rockets Power Dancers, and many more. Guest speakers included Mayor Bill White, City Councilman Gordon Quan, and State Representative Hubert Vo.

Chinese food was abundant as well. Over 10 booths served food that included Chinese lo mein, egg rolls, bubble tea, Chinese kabobs, and other ethnic foods as well.

Many company booths were on hand to promote their products or services. Companies include HEB, Walmart, ChinatownConnection.com, Fiesta, NDTV, ChineseBookOnline.com, and World Journal Newspaper were on hand. There were also booths that sold Chinese jewelry, paper lantern, books, and unique merchandises.

The fun started at 10am in the morning. As early birds woke up and headed to the festival, the ominous sky was very kind. The weather was dry and the festival was off to a terrific start. As people begin to congregate in the performance area, the atmosphere turned into joy and happiness. Kids were smiling and laughing, adults were talking and joking, and the air was filled with "Happy Chinese New Year". By noon time, capacity in the auditorium was filled to the max. It looked like 6th street in Austin, Texas during Halloween for those who know what I am talking about. Each onstage performance was magnificent. The amount of time these kids and adults spent preparing showed in their performances. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Around 2pm, mother nature decided it was time to rain and rain hard. Forecasters did warn that Saturday was going to be a stormy day so the festival was prepared. Most of the booths were indoors except the food booths who were not as lucky. As it was pouring outside, people continued to enjoy the festivities and activities at various booths. From dart throwing at the ChinatownConnection.com booth to spin-the-wheel at the Fiesta booth, everyone was entertained. The Asian Houston Photographic Society had their "China is Beautiful" exhibit upstairs in the library. Their week long exhibit at the Houston Chinese Community Center portrays the magnificent magic of photography. Photographs of China captures the culture, spirit, and meaning of "China is Beautiful".

By 3pm, the crowd grew a bit smaller due to the inclement weather but those who came and stayed were still festive and joyous. The Shaolin Kung-Fu Academy put on a spectacular Lion Dance performance. The thunderous clasps of drums rocked the auditorium and the lion dance was energetic. It definitely fired up the crowd! The Chinese New Year festival ended at 4pm. The festival was a huge success as people celebrated a new beginning; the Year of the Dog. Happy Chinese New Years!

Scroll below to see the sights at the 2006 Houston Chinese New Year Festival.

Houston Rockets Power Dancers put on quite a show!

Mayor Bill White and other distinguished dignitaries in attendance

Kids and adults enjoy dart throwing at the ChinatownConnection.com booth

Chinese school hip hop class performs for the mass crowd

Shaolin Kung Fu Academy lion dance performance rocked the house

 

Local Sponsor Ad