Photo essay: Spokane’s 4th annual Lunar New Year event celebrated culture, unity and fun
News Photos and Story by Gen Heywood | FāVS News
With the help of about 100 volunteers, Spokane’s annual Lunar New Year event took place at the Spokane Convention Center on Feb. 1. Vendors galore, swag bags, colorful perfomances and even more colorful costumes peppered the day, which ended with fireworks at 7 p.m.
The Lunar New Year celebration in Spokane developed through Spokane’s United We Stand (SUWS), a multicultural organization with the purpose to promote anti-bullying. Founded in 2020, SUWS wanted to create an impactful response to the hate toward Asian people during the COVID pandemic.
In 2021, Vina Cathcart, Lunar New Year organizer and director, and Charity Bagatsing-Doyle, its manager of grants and community outreach, along others from the community, began to dream about how to bring people together in solidarity. They considered food and music as ways to share a common, joyful experience and a community-wide Lunar New Year celebration became their solution, said Cathcart.
Spokane hosted its first Lunar New Year celebration in 1888, a reminder that the Asian community has a deep and long history in the city. However, due to racism and the fears brought with WWII, the last Lunar New Year was in 1933 until SUWS brought it back 89 years later, according to the event’s website.
Each Lunar New Year has spiritual qualities. Vina Cathcart described these aspects saying, “There are twelve different zodiac animals. This year is the year of the snake. Every new year, every single animal represents a little bit of something different in terms of personality.”
In the Chinese zodiac, the year of the snake represents growth, renewal and flexibility, with the snake itself symbolizing in addition to renewal, intelligence and mystery.
“But every Lunar New Year is about rebirth, rejuvenation and peace,” Cathcart said, describing it further as offering everyone the chance to leave all the stresses of the last year behind, to be rejuvenated by all the things to come and to find more peace in themselves.
The gathering at the Spokane Convention Center was peaceful and joyful, as seen on attendees’ faces. It was also educational, featuring a Spokane history exhibit, voter registration information and healthcare screenings.
The fair-like atmosphere also included food vendors, entertainment, a kids tumbling zone and slide, a petting zoo and several tables for crafts, local nonprofits and small businesses.
Another important goal of the event was to offer the community a chance to see the diversity that is Spokane, Cathcart said.
“People come together from different cultures and for many in our city, this day offers a little taste of home and a chance to see people who look like them,” Cathcart said.
Her family came from Vietnam in 1993, and she remembers the daunting experience she and her family experienced in a new country.
“Being back in the 90s, there weren’t a lot of other Asians here. My family didn’t know the language. It’s intimidating. What I hope is that we now have at least one day where people can see little bits of their homeland either in the performances, in the food, in the people who are here,” Cathcart said. “Or they can be inspired to say ‘Hey, I can totally express myself here. There are people like me here, and I don’t have to be afraid.’”
Critical to the success of this community celebration has been its many sponsors, which can be seen on the event’s website.
One principle sponsor is the Spokane Police Department (SPD). The organizers recognize that many of the officers who attend the event are giving their own personal time to be with the community to build relationships. The SPD has sponsored all four of the recent celebrations and said they appreciate their partnership with Cathcart.
These Lunar New Year celebrations grow relationships and honor history, organizers said.
Looking toward the future, Cathcart said, “I want to be able to see this event through 10, 20, 30 years. We want it to rival the Lilac Festival. I never want this to go away. We have such a deep history here that I hope this outlasts me.”
At the first Lunar New Year event in 1888, the Cantonese people of Spokane would have been heard saying, “Gung Hei Faat Choy.” It is a Cantonese saying that means, “Good luck and prosperity in the New Year.”
Cathcart shares in the joy of that saying and experience at each Lunar New Year celebration.
“This event hits home for me,” said Cathcart, “It’s fun. It is so much fun.”
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