A Chinese New Year celebration hosted by the Mount Hope Chinese Association in Otisville drew around 2,000 people for authentic food and live performances on Feb. 17 and 18.
Middletown couple Denise and Dominic Pierre heard about the celebration at a local Korean restaurant and were happy to discover a rich selection of Chinese tea drinks at the event.
“It was delicious,” Ms. Pierre told The Epoch Times. “This is our first time attending the Chinese New Year festival, and I am going to share my pictures with my sister, who is a teacher in China.”
Rock Hill resident and travel enthusiast Andrei Patergin, who has always tried to expose his children to different cultures as part of their upbringings, enjoyed the cultural performances on stage.
“The more we have these events, the merrier,” Mr. Patergin told The Epoch Times.
The live performances on stage at the Mount Hope Youth Center featured classical, ethnic, and folk Chinese dances, martial arts, traditional Chinese costume demonstrations, classical Chinese instruments such as the erhu and the pipa, and several classical Western musical pieces.
Most cultural programs were sponsored by Northern Academy and Fei Tian College in Middletown.
To highlight the new year’s zodiac animal, dragon-themed decorations, handcrafts, and dances were a major part of the celebration, according to Mount Hope Chinese Association President Mela Wu.
Chinese New Year is calculated annually based on a traditional solar-lunar calendar and heralds spring or the beginning of a new year.
“The event was a magical experience filled with authentic Chinese traditions, delicious food, and vibrant performances,” Mount Hope Supervisor Paul Rickard told The Epoch Times.
“I want to thank Mela Wu and Mount Hope Chinese Association for bringing the spirit of the holiday to life and sharing it with the community,” he added.
“The entertainment was fantastic, and the food and vendors were terrific,” Otisville Mayor Brian Carey told The Epoch Times. “[It was] a great two-day event that brought the community together.”
Ms. Wu told The Epoch Times that she appreciated the support of town and village officials in planning the event, the endurance of volunteers in directing traffic in cold weather, and the financial help from major sponsors, including Healthfirst and Resorts World Hudson Valley.
New York state Assemblyman Karl Brabenec, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta, Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano, and Deerpark Councilwoman Christa Hoovler were also present at the celebration.
The Mount Hope Chinese Association will host a Dragon Boat Festival in June and a Fall Fun Festival in October.
