Among the colorful, dancing lions, inviting drumbeats and delicious food, the atmosphere in the Pirate Café at Park University was full of New Year’s cheer and excitement. The year of the dog began the Chinese, or Lunar, New Year on February 16. To celebrate, the Pirate Café served a special New Year’s lunch to all students including commuters. Jasmine steamed rice, vegetable lo mein stir fry, ginger sesame sugar-snap peas and chicken pot stickers were on the menu. When asked her favorite part of the celebration, freshman music performance major and Chinese student Wei Ran said, “Maybe it’s the food, the dumplings.”
The celebration also included the Pho Hien lion dance troop, which includes Jessica Pham, a senior chemistry major at Park University. The Pho Hien troop preforms lion dancing routines with stunts and choreography. The dragons were full of energy, dancing between tables, jumping up, standing on their hind legs reaching over 10 feet tall and grabbing fans off of tables and flipping them in their mouths.
“The lions were cool,” said junior business administration major Elizabeth Leeper. “They got in your face. They would like flitter their little eye lashes. That was kind of cute.”
The Chinese New Year celebration also brought a little bit of the Chinese culture to Park for everyone to enjoy.
“It’s my last year here, and you know getting to watch this is really good because you know sharing of culture is something that is good. It was fun I liked it,” said senior business management major Victor Murgor, who is from Kenya. When you bring different cultures together everyone can learn from one another.
When the Pho Hien lion dance troop danced their way out of the Pirate Café and the drumbeat faded, the Park University Chinese New Year Celebration ended. Students and faculty finished their meals, packed up their bags and headed out to enjoy the year of the dog.