The Year of the Rabbit has officially begun, and we are so proud to have kicked it off with our inaugural Lunar New Year Celebration this past weekend. In addition to special guest appearances by Congressman Ted Lieu and Torrance Mayor George Chen on Saturday, the weekend included incredible lion dancing by UCLA’s ACA Lion Dance and Washu Shaolin Entertainment; Kung Fu demonstrations and dragon dance, again by Wushu Shaolin Entertainment; and fan dancing by Helen’s Dance Studio. There was a table offering Chinese calligraphy samples by Calligraphy by Rancy, a lantern craft and wishing wall, and a meet and greet with a Giant Flemish Rabbit and a Lion Head Rabbit. Palos Verdes High School and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School both helped out throughout the weekend by manning game tables and offering a variety of demonstrations.

Overall, the weekend was a tremendous success and we couldn’t be more thankful to those who helped support this first-time event. A special thanks to our sponsors Kevin Ou, Morgan Stanley, and Marilyn and John Long, as well as our planning committee members Tom Chan, Deborah Meng, Marilyn Long, Nancy Wei, Christina Cruz, Kimberly Sklow and Danielle Lacharite Brown. In addition to those already mentioned, we couldn’t have done the event without the help of our generous volunteers, so thank you to all of you as well!

If you missed the event or want to relive the magic, take a look at our gallery below!

All photos taken by Chuck Bennett