On January 28th, on the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Hongye Cultural Association Spring Festival Gala was held at the Burlington Seniors Activity Center. The performance hall is full of flowers, lights and festoons, beaming with joy, and the gorgeous Chinese red accentuates the strong Chinese New Year flavor. The elders, family members, friends, and specially invited guests from home and abroad gathered together more than 200 people to celebrate the Spring Festival together. There is laughter everywhere, it's so lively!
The party kicked off with the sound of gongs and drums. The vigorous lion danced in the air and circled the field. The Mayor of Burlington put the finishing touch on it. After that, the host used sweet and friendly words to give everyone a New Year greeting. The beautiful and dignified Ms. Xing Luping and the handsome and sensitive Mr. Ren Xiaoou, who acted as a bilingual translator, expressed their warm welcome and thanks to the guests and friends from the Canadian government and all walks of life! Then Ms. Zhang Lei, the founder of the Hongye Cultural Association, gave a speech. She reiterated that the purpose of the Hongye Cultural Association is to build a community platform for overseas Chinese in Burlington to enhance the understanding, exchanges and interactions between Chinese and different ethnic groups. Briefly describe the development and growth of Hongye Cultural Association over the past three years. I sincerely thank the Ontario government for its financial support and all sectors of society for their great help, and I would like to extend Chinese New Year blessings to the elders and all the guests of the Recreation Home! Mr. Mark Emmanuel, the director of the project approval of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, fully affirmed and praised the work of the Hongye Cultural Association, and issued an OTF certificate to the Hongye Cultural Association.
The performance began, and the lively and lovely "Chicken Dance" by the children of the Golden Sunshine Art Troupe caused the audience to laugh. The "show dancing and dancing" of Fengcai Art Troupe is full of charm and gives people infinite beauty. The euphemistic and moving female vocal chorus "Hawthorn Tree" is fascinating, the Chinese and Western instrumental ensemble shows the artistic talents of the elderly, and the male and female duet "Happy Gathering" fully demonstrates the theme of Chinese and foreign guests gathering together to spend the festive season. .
During the midtime of the performance, Burlington Mayor Rick Goldring presented the sponsors of this event with certificates, and also presented awards and speeches to encourage the 10 elders who won the "Outstanding Volunteer and Outstanding Contribution Award" from Leisure House. Then, teacher Tian Fengwu gave a speech on behalf of the award-winning volunteers. She appreciates the hard work and dedication of the volunteers in various activities. Describes how the Recreation Home enriches the life of the elderly in their later years. I am deeply grateful to the Canadian government for its care for the Chinese community. Encourage volunteers to be willing to be green leaves to help safflowers, and work together to make the Recreation Home even more prosperous!
下半场的节目更为精彩，舞蹈“芦花”演员服装靓丽，舞姿曼妙。旗袍秀“夜上海”展示了中国服专饰的魅力。男声四重唱节奏明快、声部和谐、演唱幽默生动，极具专业艺术水准，获得一致好评。“太极扇”尽显中国文化刚柔并济，也是强身健体的极好方式。最后一个节目是38人的大合唱“夕阳红”展现了长者们的风采，一曲“茉莉花”引发了游子们的思乡之情。演出在嘹亮奔放深情的“难忘今宵”的歌声中落下帷幕。 整场活动，大家情绪高昂、热情饱满。市长一行与民同乐，自始至终，兴致勃勃地观看节目，鼓掌助兴。四次幸运抽奖，喝彩声声，幸福满满，掌声雷动。
大家吃点心，饮咖啡，浏览欣赏书法作品，驻足欣赏康乐之家精心制作的活动展板，曲指称道，由衷赞叹！ “瑞雪纷纷兆丰年，红叶绯绯迎新春”春天春地春景和，新朋故友唱春歌。红叶文化协会新春联欢会，中国元素浓重，盛况空前，取得圆满成功。我们为无私奉献的义工们点赞，为所有成员们的辛勤付出点赞！康乐之家是长者们健康快乐的家，是爱的港湾，我们精神寄托。期盼康乐之家越办越好，在新的一年更上一层楼！感谢红叶文化协会让我们在康乐之家度过了普天同庆欢乐中国年的美好时光！祝愿康乐之家健康成长，前景更辉煌！
Ding Jian, Fan Yulai, Tian Fengwu
February 2, 2017
The following photo collections are from Huang Shicheng and Andrew Qiu, thanks to their all-round photography for capturing various wonderful moments.
Photo collection of the friends, families and volunteers.
