One of the many highlights of the Lunar New Year celebration in the Chinatown-ID will be the children’s costume parade on Saturday, February 21. Children 12 and under are invited and encouraged to use their creative talents to reflect their rendition of the theme of the Lunar New Year. <!–more–>
“It’s wonderful to see children of all races, dressed in Asian native costumes for our parade,” said Assunta Ng, publisher of Northwest Asian Weekly. “Many of them were so creative and so excited; there were Chinese gods, dragon, lion and horse costumes last year. The judges were impressed and had a hard time deciding on the top winners. Some of the younger contestants literally refused to leave the stage.”
Registration for the parade is free. The contest prizes are $100 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place. All contestants are winners, however; there will be cookies and candies for all participants. And parents will be allowed to accompany their children if they wish to partake in the festivities.
“This is a family affair. Parents have a great time in helping and making the kids’ costumes. Grandparents love seeing their grandkids on stage,” said Ng. “We had 80 participants last year. We hope to get more as we have over 20 prizes.”
Registration starts in front of the Chinese Post/Northwest Asian Weekly offices at 412 Maynard So. at 11:30 a.m. The line-up will begin at 1 p.m. Parade winners will be announced at 2:30 p.m.
The event sponsors are the Seattle City Light as title sponsor, Pepsi and Delta Airlines as corporate sponsors, KeyBank and New York Life as supporting sponsors. Community sponsors include Tsue Chong Noodles Co., Jim Doane, Ron Chow, and Mike’s Noodle House.
“We would like to thank the sponsors,” said Ng. “Without them, we couldn’t have done it year after year, organizing the parade. It is so much fun. This is a good opportunity for kids to appreciate Asian cultures and traditions.” (end)
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