The Orange County Legislature on Feb. 1 proclaimed two weeks in mid-February as the Chinese New Year celebration season in the county.
It’s the first time that the county Legislature recognized the holiday, which marks an official acknowledgment of the growing cultural and economic contributions of the local Chinese community, according to Jin Pang and Jim Zhang, who accepted the proclamation in Goshen.
“We are so proud and honored to be part of Orange County,” said Ms. Pang, who organizes the annual Moon Festival that draws tens of thousands of visitors to the New Century property in Deerpark.
“This is the year of dragon, which represents courage, fortune, wealth, confidence, and strength, and we wish everyone a happy, healthy, and wonderful year,” she said. “The best is yet to come.”
In addition to New Century, the Otisville-based Mount Hope Chinese Association regularly hosts cultural events at community venues, including a Chinese New Year celebration on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18.
The crown jewel of the cultural contributions of the local Chinese community, according to Ms. Pang, is Shen Yun, a premier Classical Chinese dance and music company based in the Town of Deerpark.
“They tour 200 cities around the world and showcase the real China before communism, and audiences know they are from this beautiful region of New York,” she said.
Jim Zhang, president of the newly formed Orange County Asian Chamber of Commerce, noted the hundreds of millions of dollars of investments by the local Chinese community over the years.
He highlighted the recent developments spearheaded by Chinese Americans in the city of Middletown, including the tech company Gan Jing World on Fulton Street, the fledging Northern Medical Center at the Community Campus, and a new department store on North Street.
“Orange County is your home, and it is our home,” said Mr. Zhang, who recently moved to Middletown from Canada. “We want to bring the best for the year of the dragon.”
“We thank you for being our neighbors and our friends,” said majority leader Tom Faggione, who brought the idea of the proclamation to the county Legislature. “Everyone has a great new year.”
Two weeks between Feb. 10—the Chinese New Year Day for 2024—and Feb. 24 were recognized as the celebration period in the county.
