Jersey City Main Branch Library Hosts Special Lunar New Year Celebration with Lion Dance Performance

On Saturday, February 7, just 10 days before Lunar New Year, the Jersey City Free Public Library hosted its annual Lunar New Year Celebration at the Priscilla Gardner Main Library. Residents from all over Jersey City came to celebrate the Year of the Horse with the community, some for the first time. The library invited multiple performers from Chinese groups across the tri-state area, including a special lion dance team from Fung Hong Ga Lion Dance Company. Two lions, one red and one yellow, pranced around the entire space, interacting with children and parents throughout the performance. These playful lions were played by two performers, sometimes stacking themselves upon one another. In Chinese mythology, these lions are meant to scare off evil spirits to protect villages for the New Year, often accompanied by loud cymbals, drums, and gongs.

The Fung Hong Ga school, which teaches both lion dancing and kung fu, has been touring the nation with its lion dances for over 30 years. Started in New York City’s Chinatown, the company’s mission is to keep Chinese culture alive. “I want to keep it going, I want to keep the culture to people who move out of Chinatown and into Jersey City or Brooklyn,” Bill Fong, the director of the organization, stated. Being an American-born Chinese himself, his goal is to open up Chinese lion dancing and kung fu to people of all ages, including students. “It’s something that not everybody gets to see,” Vincent Hawley, a student of the company and the head of the yellow lion, stated. “It’s a tangible cultural heritage you get to pass down.”

The celebration also included performances from other prominent organizations such as the TongYan Chinese School, located in Jersey City, and the Xin Yi Dance Company, located in Journal Square. The TongYan Chinese School hosted a poetry recital, singing performance, and a hanfu fashion show, all performed by students ranging from ages three to 12. Blake, four, and her brother, three, both walked through the fashion show, showing off their traditional red hanfus. The Xin Yi Dance Company presented a three-part dance performance: a Chinese classical dance, a Dai ethnic dance, and a final dance medley (folk dances), which included a variety of styles—specifically Jiaozhou Yangko, Tibetan, Anhui Huagudeng, Dunhuang, and Han. The co-founder, Leo Shao, wanted to showcase the different styles of the 56 ethnic regions of China through an all-encompassing performance. “Each one represents the culture of ethnic minorities,” he explained. “I hope more and more people, not just the Chinese community, can know more about [our company] and our beautiful dances.”

The Biblioteca Criolla room, the Spanish section of the library, also held an art exhibit of Asian artists. Head librarian Patricia Vega has used the room as a gallery space, showcasing not only traditional mediums such as paintings, but sculptures and installations as well. There were fan paintings; paintings of horses by Filipino artist Rossana Villaflor; classic illustrations of Chinese New Year scenery by Cecilia Liu; sculptures of dumplings encased in resin by artist Una Zhang; and a LEGO installation of classic Chinese parades by artist Ma Yi.

Librarian Yolanda Keahey directed the entire celebration. The program has been running for four years, and she has been the lead organizer for the past three. “It was started out by librarian Roma-Lee Chatman,” she explained. “She didn’t like how the community was being treated at that time, with all the negativity. So to combat that, she celebrated their culture through a New Year’s celebration.” Ever since, the library has been consistently holding this program, improving with each new year. “This was my first time at a Lunar New Year celebration,” Debbi, one of the volunteer assistants, exclaimed. “I was so pleasantly surprised. I was surprised how the community came out despite the cold weather.” The Lunar New Year Celebration allowed people to celebrate their own Chinese heritage, but also expose the whole community to the diversity of Chinese cultures around them. “It was very fulfilling,” Debbi remarked.