Despite the inclement weather, many people went downtown on Main Street to see the Lunar New Year Celebration; which rang in the Year of the Snake. Kids from Alhambra worked to help pass around ear plugs, red envelopes (used to offer gifts), streamers, pom-poms, noisemakers, and candies to the excited spectators. The first main show was the taekwondo demonstration by Team Dae Han. They performed impressive feats like board-breaking, blindfolded kicks, and synchronized poomse (a defined pattern of attack and defense forms used to teach taekwondo).
Shortly afterwards, lion dancers and accompanying musicians gave a dazzling performance with loud drums and cymbals. The lions went parading up and down along the audience and gladly ate up any red envelopes offered to them. They jumped up on boxes, shook like mad, and wildly danced and entertained a captivated crowd. The wind picked up, but thankfully some of our school’s volunteers were able to hold down the tents, preventing the instruments from getting wet.
As the show came to a close, the celebration was finalized with a gigantic set of firecrackers. They were set light, and went off rapidly, producing a colossal continuous roar that hurt the ear drums of anyone nearby. Just as quickly as the noise started, it stopped, and the cheers began. As the rain continued to softly drip down on the ecstatic viewers, people started heading for home, and the school’s volunteers helped quickly pack and clean up the site.
The celebration is important for this town not only because it highlights the town’s Asian-American heritage, but it helped bring the town together after a recent mishap at the refinery spread fear and worry to those living nearby. Martinez is excited for the next year’s celebration: 2026, The Year of the Horse!