Residents celebrate Chinese New Year at Civic Arts Plaza
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR- Above,Quinn Dunker, 3, of Agoura is surprised to find Yee Ting Wu, 15, of Agoura, inside a paper lion at the Agoura Library recently, part of the community's Chinese New Year celebrations. Left, Kathy Zhou and Chik-Hua Liu, principal and vice principal of Thousand Oaks Chinese School, join the festivities at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza.

The Chinese New Year Celebration at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Saturday ushered in the Year of the Golden Pig with a delightful mix of song, dance, drama, acrobatics and even a bit of magic.

The Conejo Chinese Cultural Association and Thousand Oaks Chinese School host a show every year, but this year's cultural tribute was distinctive because it's not just the Year of the Pig, but the Year of the Golden Pig, a lunar calendar event celebrated just once every 60 years.

Sixty years in an ancient culture spanning many millennia is a blip similar to geologic time, but this year's performance will be remembered as a standout show. The cast of hundreds, most of whom are Chinese School students, performed to a full house.

STEPHANIE BERTHOLDO Acorn Newspapers

The joy-and-peace themed show opened with the Conejo Youth Orchestra. Jessica Chang, a reporter for the "San Diego Insider," a Channel 4 magazine show in San Diego, and Owen Li, a general assignment reporter at KETV, the ABC affiliate in Omaha, Neb., shared master of ceremony honors for the evening.

Tracy Lo, the Chinese Cultural Association president, and Kathy Chou, principal of the Thousand Oaks Chinese School, greeted the crowd in Chinese and English. Lo said the performances were derived from "the rich heritage of traditional Chinese arts and culture, which carries with it a history of over 5,000 years."

Children from prekindergarten through high school sang, danced and performed skits for the crowd in vibrant, classic silken costumes, sometimes adding spectacular masks.

A humorous skit called "A Dispute between Steamed Buns and Noodles" was performed by ninth- and 10th-grade Chinese School students. The short play relayed a "truth" about conflict in a comedic way by portraying noodles and buns arguing.

"When vanity gets in the way of decorum, it matters not who or what is involved; conflict and disaster will no doubt arise," the program stated.

Children as young as 4 years old performed in a segment called "Children Basking in Flowers."

Professional acts also performed, among them the Peony Dance Group, the Melody Chinese Singing Group and Las Vegas acrobat/contortionist Meng Meng, who tangled her body in fluid motions that appeared to defy human ability.

Mark Haslam, a professional magician who regularly performs at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, wowed the crowd with magic and humor.

The handkerchief dance was energetically performed by dance students from the Chinese School.

Even the staff and faculty got into the act and presented short verses wishing everyone bliss and happiness. The group called themselves the Golden Vests because of their golden apparel, which symbolized the wealth and joy of the New Year.

Several other dances, skits and songs were performed throughout the evening, and by the end of the evening, the Year of the Golden Pig was launched.

The show will be aired on Time Warner Cable, channel 25 and Charter Cable, channels 8 and 3 on March 2, 3, 9 and 10 at 6 p.m.