Maggie Yang welcomed the guests in English and Chinese to the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library’s 2018 Chinese New Year celebration on February25th.

The Friends’ Room was decorated with bright red paper lanterns, good luck messages and firecrackers in honor of the “Year of the Dog”.

Guests were given a small bag of goodies and a lucky raffle ticket for door prizes at the beginning of this special celebration.

Drawings were held during the event and many lucky guests won prizes in honor of the “Year of the Dog”.

Members of the Chuchu Dance Group performed a graceful Chinese Folk Dance to the tune of “Women’s Love” in their beautiful blue and pink apparel. The audience was delighted to see the wonderful dance from their childhood.

Robert Zhao played “Beautiful Grapes in Autumn” on his “Erhu”. (Editor’s note: Erhu is a kind of violin (fiddle) with two strings.) The melody was very interesting and highly enjoyed by the senior citizens in the room.

Members of the Linglong Dance Group performed a graceful Chinese Folk Dance to the tune of “Gathering Ferns” in their beautiful attire with long sleeves that were used by the dancers to express themselves. The guests were caught up in their theme.

Winnie Dong performed a Uyghur Folk Dance in their traditional dress to the tune “Meaning of a Butterfly”. (Editor’s note: A Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia performs Uyghur Folk Dances.) The audience enjoyed a chance to share in another part of their Chinese culture.

Soprano Linda Zhong sang “Please Guide Me, the Lord of Love” in Chinese to the pleasure of the viewers. She is well known at the Los Angeles Opera Art Center.

Baritone Xin Wang sang “I Miss Her” in Chinese to the happiness of the audience. His is well known at the Los Angeles Opera Art Center.

Soprano Linda Zhong and Baritone Xin Wang sang “Unforgettable Night”, as a duet in Chinese, as their last performance in this event.

Members of the Chuchu Dance Group performed another Chinese Folk Dance dressed in beautiful yellow attire danced gracefully to the tune of “Dunhuang”.  (Editor’s Note:  Dunhuang was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road).

Tenor George Peng sang “You Raise Me Up” in Chinese to his many fans in the group. He also sang and danced with one of the dancers to the enjoyment of the guests.

Members of LA Dragon Renaissance Association read Chinese Poetry in parts about the Chinese New Year’s Eve to the audience. George Peng joined them for their final curtain call.
“Cook Up A Storm” is about a culinary competition becomes a battleground as a famous Cantonese street-food chef goes up against his Michelin-starred, classically trained rival.  This movie was the last act of this celebration.