The Cupertino Courier

Cover Story

Photograph by Kelly Hsiao

Twirlers: Gianna Wu, 10, practices the art of Chinese handkerchief twirling, a skill she and her fellow performers will display at the upcoming Cupertino Lunar New Year Unity Parade.

Moon Over Cupertino

Lunar New Year celebration promotes diversity

By Joanne Griffith Domingue

Steve Ting wants pigs in the Cupertino Lunar New Year Unity Parade on March 10. After all, it's the Year of the Pig, which began Feb. 18 with the Lunar New Year.

But Ting, co-chair of the parade with Penny Peng, is worried. He knows that "getting a few pigs to march along with us" is going to be a lot more difficult than it was leading a camel down Stelling Road in last year's parade.

"A camel is easier to manage,'' says Ting, a Cupertino resident. "Pigs--it's harder to get them to march together."

Pigs or no pigs, the parade is shaping up to be an engaging, colorful community event with 80 marching groups, 10 more than last year. There will also be more cultural booths and performers this year at the International Fair, which follows the parade at Memorial Park behind the Quinlan Community Center.

The original concept for the joint Lunar New Year celebration and Unity Parade began five years ago. Michelle Hu, a community leader, and Richard Lowenthal, city council member and former mayor, were co-presidents of the committee that organized and spearheaded the first event.

Ting expects this year's crowd will be larger than the 10,000 who came last year.

"The Lunar New Year is celebrated by Asians, but Cupertino has many, many other groups," says Ann Woo, executive director of the Cupertino-based Chinese Performing Artists of America. "This event is not just for Asians. It is multicultural. We use the event to unite people."

Even though the Lunar New Year is Feb. 18, the celebration can last a month. "Later is better," Woo says. "Imagine a parade with rain. It would be a killjoy."

The parade begins at 10:30 a.m. March 10 at Jollyman Park in Cupertino and ends at Memorial Park. The fair opens at 11:30 a.m. and will feature food, live entertainment, cultural booths and activities such as face painting and clay making.

After the parade ends at 12:30 p.m., performers will take to the stage at the park's amphitheater throughout the afternoon. The festival concludes at 5 p.m.

Woo anticipates that a highlight of the parade will be the seven students from the CPAA School performing inside a dragon costume. The costume has scales like a snake in brilliant yellow and green. "It is most spectacular," she says. "It is very beautiful."

During the parade the dragon will perform with three students playing the cymbals. Woo also plans to have a fan team in the parade that, like the dragon, will provide color and spectacle.

Other parade participants will include dancers, convertible automobiles, bands and Boy Scouts. Participants are divided into four general groups: elected officials, schools, ethnic groups and service organizations.

Elected officials from the federal, state, county and local level will ride in the convertibles. Ting says he's especially pleased that Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is coming.

Students from 20 elementary schools, five middle schools, five high schools and DeAnza College are participating. Ethnic groups will include Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean and African Americans. Among the service organizations represented are the Rotary Club, YMCA and firefighters from local stations.

Some of the booths will showcase the Palestinian Heritage Committee, the Vietnamese Student Association of San Jose State University, the Joint Alumni Association of Chinese Universities and Colleges, the Muslim Community Association and India in Classrooms.

The Homestead High School National Art Honor Society, Euphrat Museum of Art, Eaton Elementary School PTO, Cupertino History Society and Museum and Friends of Children with Special Needs are all staffing booths.

Wendell Stephens, chairman of the International Fair and the cultural booths, is happy with the lineup. "The quality is really good," he says.

A special treat, Stephens says, is that Cupertino's sister city, Hsin Chu, in Taiwan, will have 10 booths, in addition to 13 by local groups.

Hsin Chu is sometimes called Taiwan's Silicon Valley, Ting says, because of its many high-tech companies and educational institutions .

No Lunar New Year celebration would be complete without food. There will be stands with pizza and hot dogs, chow mein, fried rice and spring rolls. There also will be Indian, Japanese and Thai food.

Performances will begin at 12:30 p.m. This year's lineup is not yet complete. Last year's performers included Korean dancers, a karate showcase, hip hop, Asian ethnic dances, tai chi and kung fu, Indian classical dance, Chinese martial arts and vocalists.

Woo, who is overseeing the stage shows, says the performances will emphasize drama and spectacle.

The daylong celebration is supported by the city of Cupertino. Thousands of dollars in staffing and event-related costs are covered by the city.

City crews also put up banners around the city publicizing the event, according to Bob Rizzo, assistant director of public works. The best place to see the banners, he says, is in front of the Quinlan Community Center.

The event is organized by an extraordinary group of longtime Cupertino residents. There are retired engineers, NASA scientists, a retired vice president from Nortel Networks, community volunteers, former mayors and city council members. Their efforts are aimed at at putting together a child-friendly celebration of multiculturalism.

The Lunar New Years Unity Parade is free and there is free parking all day at DeAnza College. For more information, visit www.unityparade.org If you download the parade hat and wear it to the fair, you will receive a free soda at the information desk.