MHS Asian Club Displays Talents For Lunar New Year

By Kyle Chan, Millburn High School

Four months of intensive planning, countless hours of volunteer work from parents and students, and generous donations from the local community culminated in the 2nd Annual Lunar New Year Festival hosted on February 15 by the Far East Asian Club at Millburn High School.

The Asian Club brought the festival to the school to educate their peers about Chinese, Japanese and Korean culture. Student and parents worked together to transform the MHS Cafeteria into a stage for an afternoon filled with performances, as well as appetizers from a number of Asian cultures.

Jacky Wang and James Yoon kicked off the festivities with an energetic, traditional lion dance. Margaret Mao and Chloe Chow followed with a moving musical performance on the Gu Zheng, a traditional Chinese stringed instrument. Lily Blum demonstrated the Korean fighting style of Karate.

Chanthia Ma performed a touching musical number on the violin. Helen He and Tiffany Chan leapt across the stage in a graceful ribbon dance. The performers gathered with students from Mrs. King’s many Chinese classes and circled the cafeteria to demonstrate the dragon dance.

A group of girls, Zoey Peterson, Chloe Chow, Mackenzie Topolski and Meg Reddy energized the crowd with some dance moves from the music video of a Korean girl group, Girl’s Day.

Fan Chung Hung, who has been learning the intricacies of Chinese yo-yo, also known as a Diablo, for four years, performed a exhibition that wowed the audience. Christopher McHugh, aka Darkwynd, ended the festivities with an lively Multi-Cultural Asian Rap.

Tiffany Chan, co-president and co-coordinator of the event, said, "Although things didn't go according to plan, what with multiple technical difficulties, and running out of food...I think, overall, the event went very well. We were able to prove to ourselves and to the school that a small club like us can make a huge difference. And based on what I've heard from some members, the audience enjoyed the show!"

Looking to the future, the Asian Club intends to make the event an even bigger production and to take greater steps toward in educating the community about Asian culture, at future Lunar New Year events and throughout the year.