Colorado Springs Chinese New Year Festival

Colorado Springs, CO - The Colorado Springs Chinese Cultural Institute held their 16^th Annual Chinese New Year Celebration at the City Auditorium on Saturday, January 21, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The City Auditorium is located at 221 East Kiowa.

The New Year Celebration has become a mainstay cultural event in Colorado Springs due to the growing fascination of the Asian culture. This year’s event will continue the “celebration” atmosphere as in past years. Activities for this year will feature the traditional lion dance, kung Fu demonstrations, traditional Chinese dances, Chinese yo-yo demonstrations and Chinese musical performances.   “Chinatown” offers an assortment of Asian-themed merchants and a “Taste of China” to whet your appetite from various food vendors.  Cultural performances will take place on the Main Stage, while in the “Teahouse” people learn to play mahjong (a Chinese card game), or Go (a Chinese “checkers” game) or learn calligraphy at the “Tea House.”

The official Chinese New Year celebration is based on a lunar calendar that begins on January 31, 2014.  In the traditional Chinese Lunar calendar this is the year 4712.  The origin of the New Year celebration occurred before the advent of the written language; hence it is an oral tradition with many myths.  Through the years it has sustained as one of the few major celebrations in China.

The Year of the Horse covers those born in 1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, and 2014.  Those born in the Year of the Horse tend to be active, energetic, hardworking, charismatic, self-reliant and tolerant. Horse people often are rebellious and have a hard time belonging because of their need to race or travel.  Famous Horse people are Davy Crockett, Clint Eastwood, Ella Fitzgerald, Harrison Ford, Sandra Day O’Conner, Theodor Roosevelt, Mike Tyson, and Borris Yeltsin.

Admissions for the CSCCI New Year Festival are $6 for adults, $5 for Military, students and CSCCI members.  Children under 5 are free.  Tickets can be purchased at the door.  The Colorado Springs Chinese Cultural Institute (CSCCI) is a non-profit organization that provides a forum for greater appreciation of Chinese culture through education and social interaction.  For more information, please call CSCCI at (719) 287-7624 or visit their website at www.cscci.org.