2017 Chinese New Year Gala

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!

The second half of the show was even more exciting. The dancers of the dance "Luhua" had beautiful costumes and graceful dance posture. The cheongsam show "Night Shanghai" showed the charm of Chinese clothing accessories. The male quartet has a lively rhythm, a harmonious voice, and a humorous and vivid singing. It is highly professional and artistic, and has won unanimous praise. "Tai Chi Fan" fully demonstrates the strength and softness of Chinese culture, and it is also an excellent way to strengthen the body. The last show was the 38-person chorus "Sunset Red", which showed the demeanor of the elderly, and the song "Jasmine" aroused the homesickness of the wanderers. The performance came to an end with the loud, unrestrained and affectionate "Unforgettable Tonight" singing.

Throughout the event, everyone was in high spirits and full of enthusiasm. The mayor and his party had fun with the people, watching the show enthusiastically from beginning to end, applauding to help. Four lucky draws, cheers, happiness, and thunderous applause. Everyone eats snacks, drinks coffee, browses and appreciates the calligraphy works, and stops to admire the activity panels elaborated by the Recreation House. The song is praised, and sincerely admired!

"Ruixue has a good year, Hongye Feifei welcomes the Chinese New Year" in spring, the spring scenery is harmonious, and new friends and old friends sing spring songs. The Hongye Cultural Association New Year Party, with strong Chinese elements, was an unprecedented grand occasion and achieved a complete success. We praise the volunteers who are selfless, and praise all the members for their hard work! The Recreation Home is a healthy and happy home for the elderly and a harbor of love. Our spiritual sustenance. I hope that the recreational home will get better and better, and it will be even better in the new year! Thanks to the Hongye Cultural Association for letting us spend a wonderful time celebrating the Happy Chinese New Year at the Kangle House! I wish Kangle Home to grow up healthily and have a more brilliant prospect!

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.