By Kane Carpenter

An electric atmosphere engulfed Chinatown on January 29 as thousands of spectators filled the streets to watch the Chinese community put on martial arts, lion dance, and dragon dance performances in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

With entertainment set up at many street corners in Chinatown, spectators were treated to displays of traditional Chinese festivities at every turn. On one end of Chinatown, at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Essex Street, a stage was set up for martial arts performances. On the other end of Chinatown, at the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Kneeland Street, crowds followed a lion dance display, which traveled from storefront to storefront.

Chinese New Year, which year after year draws large crowds to the Chinatown area, is the most significant and important of Chinese celebrations. Signifying the beginning of the lunar calendar, Chinese New Year day occurred on January 23 this year.

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To see Sampan Newspaper’s special Chinese New Year edition articles, check out these links:

I exist… Therefore, we celebrate: How a quick conversation altered a lifetime of traditions

Fireworks on New Year’s Eve

The 2012 Year in Review

A Special Chinese New Year Moment with Jennifer Che, Founder of Tiny Urban Kitchen

By Kane Carpenter

On January 27, in an elaborately decorated gym, Josiah Quincy Elementary School students performed skits, dances, and songs in celebration of Chinese New Year and the Year of the Dragon for teachers, parents and local government officials.

The performances, which began at around 10 a.m. and lasted close to two hours, were arranged by the teachers at the school. According to Josiah Quincy Elementary School Principal Simon Ho, each class had about three weeks to organize and arrange their performances.

City Councilor Bill Linehan was one of many significant figures to attend the celebration and was even given the assignment of handing a bouquet of flowers to one of three Josiah Quincy Elementary School teachers that were in charge of putting on the show.

A total of ten performances, by students from kindergarten to grade 5, took place. A traditional Chinese lion dance, performed by students from the fifth grade, kicked-off the celebrations and a gymnastics showcase by the JQS Flying Dragons, which was made up of students from third, fourth, and fifth grade, closed out the show.

By Kane Carpenter

On January 28, Kwong Kow Chinese School held its Chinese New Year celebrations with performances from the school’s students. Performances included dancing, singing, poem reciting, and instrument demonstrations.

Close to 100 students and parents crowded into the Kwong Kow Chinese School’s auditorium to watch the celebrations, which lasted a little over an hour.

Students, whose ages ranged from kindergarten to grade 5, wore elaborate costumes to perform traditional Chinese dances and songs; one particular highlight being a performance of ethnic-Xinjiang dancing accompanied by music.

Kwong Kow Chinese School is a 95 year-old Chinese heritage school which aims to disseminate Chinese language and culture to Chinese and non-Chinese learners through formal and informal learning opportunities. The school offers after-school and weekend classes for students of all ages.

Among the facilities at Kwong Kow Chinese School are a language center – which offers Chinese language lessons for professional and personal use and are taught at a variety of levels; a cultural center – which teaches Chinese culture courses incorporating music, painting, dancing, theatre, martial arts, calligraphy, and sports; and an education center – which runs programs for parents and communities to meet the needs of lifelong learners and supply continuous education.

By Kane Carpenter

The Asian American Civic Association (AACA) held a dinner ceremony for the organization’s funders and employer partners in celebration of Chinese New Year on January 26, at Empire Garden Restaurant in Chinatown.

The dinner, which hosted jazz musicians John Dreyer and Harvey Diamond, was attended by over 100 people. During the proceedings, AACA Chief Operating Officer Sunny Schwartz presented a 5-minute video clip that showcased the organization’s Building Energy Efficient Maintenance Skills (BEEMS) and Partnership for Automotive Career Education (PACE) programs.

“State Street is a strong supporter of the work the AACA does,” said Madge M. Meyer, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovative Officer at State Street Corporation. “The work they do at the AACA is invaluable to the community.”

“[The dinner] was an excellent opportunity to thank of funders, employer partners and students,” said Michael Genovese, Director of Development at AACA.

By Kane Carpenter

On a festivity-filled Sunday afternoon in Chinatown on January 29, East West Bank offered custom traditional Chinese souvenirs for attendees who entered the bank.

East West Bank, which is located near the intersection of Harrison Avenue and Kneeland Street, hosted calligraphers, painters, and artists whom offered free Chinese-style paintings and calligraphy typical of the Chinese New Year time.

Customers of the T, the moniker used to describe the many services the MBTA offers, take more than 1.3 million trips every weekday. Despite these numbers, the T faces a $185 million deficit in operating expenses in fiscal year 2013, which makes financially sustaining the service precarious.

The three reasons the MBTA states have contributed to the organization’s structural budget deficit are:

1. The MBTA’s operating costs for energy, fuel, and health care have continued to rise, and costs for THE RIDE – a service dedicated to providing door-to-door transportation for eligible people who cannot use public transportation – have grown by nearly 400 percent over the last decade. While THE RIDE’s operating costs have increased over the past 10 years, the primary cost increase has been due to exponential growth in ridership on that service.

2. The T is financially burdened with principal and interest payments on $5.2 billion in debt that consume nearly 30 percent of its annual operating budget.

3. Since 2000, the T’s primary source of funding (a 20 percent share of statewide sales tax receipts) has not produced the steadily increasing revenue stream originally proposed.

To battle these budget difficulties, the MBTA has proposed two scenarios that would close the projected deficit. Scenario 1 includes a higher fare increase and a smaller number of service reductions, while scenario 2 includes a slightly lower fare increase but larger service reductions.

Scenario 1 incorporates a 43 percent overall fare increase for all fare media types. This would help the MBTA gain $161 million in annual revenue through a $123.2 million increase in fare revenue and $38.3 million net operating savings.

Scenario 2 incorporates a 35 percent overall fare increase for all fare media types. This would help the MBTA gain $165 million in annual revenue through a $86.8 million increase in fare revenue and $78.4 million net operating savings.