People gathered at Newark Library on Feb. 28 to celebrate Lunar New Year. This is the Year of the Fire Horse, a rare occurrence that only happens every 60 years. It signals intensity and forward momentum.
The event was organized by California State Senator Aisha Wahab and Newark City Councilmember Julie Del Catancio. This year, Lunar New Year lasts from Feb. 17 to March 3.
“We are here today because we’re celebrating not only Asians but community, and we’re celebrating ourselves and our community out here in Newark,” said Del Catancio, the first Asian American Newark councilmember, elected in 2024.
Wahab gave all the credit for the event to Del Catancio. “Julie has been a very strong advocate on making sure that Lunar New Year is actually celebrated, understood and we actually bring communities together.”
Newark has held an annual Lunar New Year celebration every year since 2020. Lunar New Year is celebrated by many Asian cultures, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Filipino people.
Multiple community organizations tabled during the event, including Viola Blythe Community Services, League of Volunteers and Assemblymember Alex Lee’s Office. There were also arts and crafts for kids and a performance from Wadaiko Taiko.
The event started with a mesmerizing lion dance. The two-member lion started the dance inside Newark Library, then slithered into the community room where the organizations were tabling. This happened while a three-man band played traditional lion dance music.
The lion then performed outside in front of a crowd. Del Catancio held a cabbage up for the lion to “eat.” The lion then spat pieces of the cabbage out of its mouth, wowing the audience as if performing a magic trick. The lion then held a Lunar New Year sign up with its mouth.
A Union City resident attended the event and called it very festive. He said a lot of people were in attendance and the 75-degree weather was great.
Fremont resident Tarrah Henrie said she attended because her daughter is one of the Newark Wadaiko Taiko Drummers. “It’s really great that Newark is having a fun community event and that the attendance is so good…And it’s good to see the politicians here as well to support the event,” she said. “It’s really fun to see different parts of the community come out today.”
One member of Newark Wadaiko Taiko said the traditional drums started in Japan with solo drummers. The musicians then started playing the Taiko drums as a group in San Francisco in the late 1960s.
The Newark Wadaiko group has been active for 25 years. They performed several times at the event with high energy, chants and movements while playing the Wadaiko drums.
Assemblymember Lee gave a few words about the Year of the Fire Horse. “This is the year where young ones, adults and the seniors alike can set new ambitions, because this is the year where our ambitions are met, the fiery ambitions of the fire horse will guide you and gallop you towards any goal that you set your minds to.”
