SPOKANE, Wash. – For the biggest holidays, you have the biggest celebrations.
In China, the Lunar New Year is considered the most important holiday of the year, filled with food, family and festivities in the street. Similar to American Christmas and Thanksgiving, non-essential businesses typically close to encourage people to celebrate.
In Spokane, the celebration isn’t nearly as big, but that doesn’t stop the local Asian population from celebrating as much as they can.
“We want the Asian (population), the Chinese population (and) the Chinese families here to feel like home,” Weiling Zhu, president of the Spokane Chinese Association said.
To do so, the Spokane Chinese Association hosted a large event Sunday afternoon at the Fox Theater, the second time they’ve done so. Zhu said they used to hold similar events at smaller venues in the past, but the demand coming out of the pandemic required the space.
“We want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy the joy of Lunar New Year,” Zhu said, “the single largest celebration in the Chinese tradition.”
From 1 p.m.-3 p.m., they hosted a cultural fair inside the Fox Theater lobby, where people could enjoy food, calligraphy, face painting, art, children’s games and more.
At 4 p.m.they hosted an hour and a half long show on the Fox Theater stage, celebrating the Year of the Dragon. The show featured dragon dancers, music, dancers and more.
