Holmdel Welcomes Year of the Pig at Festive Chinese New Year Celebration

Dancers and dragons, music and martial arts, costumes and culture, fine arts and food, poetry and pageantry – all this and more came together in one spectacular celebration of the Chinese New Year in Holmdel, NJ. The annual extravaganza, presented by the Jersey Shore Chinese School, was held at Holmdel High School on Saturday, February 2. This year’s celebration marked not only the start of the lunar Year of the Pig, but also the 40th anniversary of the Jersey Shore Chinese School (JSCS), which is based at William R. Satz School. JSCS is a nonprofit organization, open to the entire community, offering children and adults a vibrant curriculum to understand and appreciate Chinese language, culture, music, arts, and more. Mandarin is the main instructional language in all language classes, including those offered for non-Mandarin speaking students. The school now boasts an enrollment of about 320 students from age four to adult, with classes held on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 12:30 p.m.

At the event on February 2, which was free and open to the public, hundreds of people turned out to enjoy the diverse talent show. There were mesmerizing dancers in beautiful costumes, charming poetry recitations, impressive self-defense demonstrations, talented musicians and singers, fantastic Chinese yo-yo performances, and more. In the high school commons area, guests were able to admire the exhibitions of Chinese painting and calligraphy, multimedia artworks, and folk arts and crafts, all created by the students.

The highlight of each year’s Chinese New Year celebration is undoubtedly the magnificent Dragon Dance that is performed with admirable precision by teams of students. This year, there were not two, but four colorful oversized dragons, thanks to two new ones being donated by the former JSCS principal and his wife. Dignitaries from the Holmdel school district, Holmdel township, Monmouth County, and the state of New Jersey – and from as far abroad as Taiwan – joined Jersey Shore Chinese School administrators and teachers onstage in the traditional “waking of the dragons” and then merrily tested their skills at guiding the elaborate, majestic dragons up and down the aisles of the auditorium and across the stage. Several proclamations – as well as a huge cake – were presented to the JSCS in honor of their 40th anniversary and the tremendous cultural contribution they make to the community.

At the conclusion of the performances, everyone was invited to feast upon a buffet of delicious traditional Chinese dishes, accompanied by live music and the calling of winners in the adult and children raffles. For all those present, the wish was the same: to look forward to health, prosperity, and good fortune in the coming year!