Chinese New Year Celebration to be held in IU Auditorium

With the Chinese New Year and the Beijing Olympics around the corner, the IU Chinese Student and Scholar Association is hosting a celebration.\nThe Chinese New Year Celebration, which will also celebrate the upcoming Beijing Olympics, will take place Sunday in the IU Auditorium. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and performances begin at 7 p.m.\n“It’s like American Christmas,” said Yuan Zhang, an activity assistant for the IUCSSA. “It’s our biggest festival.”\nThis event is free and includes a buffet, followed by multicultural dances and songs.\n“We have a traditional lion dance,” said Roxy Chang, vice president of the IUCSSA. “We have a Mickey Mouse (dance) with a mascot.”\nThere will also be a line dance, a break dance and a ballroom dance.\n“We had the idea for Mickey and Minnie because we have a Disneyland in Hong Kong,” said IUCSSA Activity Director Lunwen Zhang. “The coming year is the Year of the Rat so that’s why we have Mickey and Minnie.”\nYuan Zhang said the event also features a presentation of a traditional Chinese instrument, the erhu. The erhu is a stringed instrument with a long, curved neck attached to a small, hollow body. It is played with a bow, similar to a violin.\nTypical Chinese cuisine will be prepared for the event, Chang said. Some of the foods that will be available during the event are sesame chicken, beef stew with potato and peach bun.\n“The ultimate goal is to promote Chinese culture, to build a bridge between Chinese students and the rest of the community,” said Calvin Dong, the finance director for the IUCSSA.\nThe Beijing Olympics Overseas Volunteer Organization is hosting the “Wishes From Abroad” banner signing during the event, according to an IU press release. The banner and some of the profit and donations received will eventually make their way back to Beijing. The event is co-sponsored by the IUCSSA, Yuan Zhang said.\n“We want to create a global awareness of the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” Dong said. “We need to have a lot of support and a lot of signatures. Anyone can sign.”