On February 6, 2016, the 2016 Monkey-year Chinese Spring Festival Celebration of the University of Saskatchewan was held in Quance Theatre, Education Building, University of Saskatchewan. The celebration was organized by the Confucius Institute at the U of S, co-organized by the U of S, CSSA (Chinese Students’ & Scholars’ Association), UCCC (Undergraduate Chinese Culture Club), and sponsored by Ag-Vision Seeds Ltd., the UPS Store and Wok Box.

Special thanks go to CSSA, UCCC, ISSAC (International Students and Study Abroad Center), International Research and Partnerships, Language Centre of U of S and Chinese Dance School of Saskatchewan for their cooperation and support.

There were about 300 audience for the celebration, including the mayor of Saskatoon, his worship Don Atchison; and some leaders of the U of S, such as Dr. Jim Basinger, Associate Vice President Research; Mr. Rob Norris, Senior Strategist for Research Partnership;  Dr. Lawrence Martz, Vice Dean, College of Arts and Science; Dr. Diane Martz, Director, Office of International Research and Partnership; Mr. David Parkinson, Director of Language Centre; Mr. Derek Tannis, Manager, ISSAC; Mr. Chunhua Cao, General Manager, Ag-Vision Seeds Ltd.

Prior to the performance, three speeches of new-year blessings were delivered by the mayor of Saskatoon, his worship Don Atchison, Associate Vice-President Research Dr. Jim Basinger, and the Chinese Co-Director of the Confucius Institute Dr. Ning Liu respectively.

The happy and cheerful Dragon and Drum Dance by the Chinese Dance School of Saskatchewan marked the beginning of the celebration.

The Dance Group of the CI at the U of S put on four beautiful dances: “Blissful Clouds over the Changbai Mountain”, “Rainy Lane”, “Peach Blossom” and “Charm of Yi Village”. Their professional and elegant dance aroused the emotion of all the audience.

Besides the Dragon and Drum Dance, the Chinese Dance School of Saskatchewan put on another three attractive and cheerful dances:  “Sun Shines Cheerfully” symbolizes the rising sun as well the start of the new year and new life; “Peach Flowers” is like a bunch of dewy and fragrant peach flowers which drive away the chilly winter; and “Fairview of Southern Yangtze River” brings the audience to the poetic and idyllic “Dreamy South of China”.

Nine children in Chinese costumes from the CI sang a Chinese chanson “Xin Nian Hao” (Happy New Year) in Chinese. Their new-year blessings in Chinese and lovely performance brought about a host of applauses and laughter.

The zither and xiao ensemble “Women’s Love” by the CI Chinese Traditional Instrument Orchestra originates from “Journey to the West”, which is not only in line with the theme of 2016: the monkey year, but also brought to the audience great entertainment. The piano solo “Land of the Misty Giants” by musician Shasha Yu also moved all the audience.

Two well-known Chinese songs “Fairy Tale” and “You Exist in My Song” were sung by students of the U of S Sydney and David，international Chinese student Jingwen Bai, and volunteer teacher of the CI Jingjing Liu.

The performance by the CI Taichi Class was also excellent, displaying the essence of Taichi.

The celebration also saw the audience winning great prizes, including a 40” Smart TV. After the prize draw, the CI Dragon and Lion Dance Group brought to the audience a fabulous Lion Dance. They danced to the rhythm of Gangnam Style, which made the lion dance extraordinary and brought happiness and laughter to all the audience. The evening celebration was brought to the end with the lion dance. 

The 2016 U of S Chinese New Year Celebration has achieved great success. The colorful and rich programs have brought to the audience great amusement and mountains of happiness.