2017 Chinese New Year Event

The 2nd annual Chinese New Year Fair (CNY Fair) was successfully held on February 12, 2017 in Mitchell Park Community Center. More than 2,000 Palo Alto residents and friends of various ethnicities attended the Fair to celebrate the Chinese New Year together. The theme for 2017 CNY Fair was “Make a friend of a different culture”.

All nine Palo Alto city council members and five PAUSD Board members attended the Fair. During his interview, Mayor Greg Schaffer highly praised the Fair and said he hoped this new tradition will continue every year. The 2nd annual Fair was even more successful than the first one indicated not only by the number of participants, but also by the diversity of the participating groups. In addition to the mainland Chinese groups, four Palo Alto schools (Paly, Jordan, Ohlone and Walter Hayes) and a Taiwanese dancing group performed at the Fair. A popular band, People Power, headed by Chinese American Gene Wang, also wowed the crowd.

Over $7,700 income was generated during the Fair and all proceeds were donated to PAUSD to support local schools. Among the recipients were $3200 to PIE, $2500 to PTAC, and $500 to each of the four participating schools to support their art programs.

The Fair was organized by the Palo Alto Chinese community, co-sponsored by the City of Palo Alto and PTA Council. More than $11,000 was raised from the Chinese community to cover the expenses of the Fair. Close to two hundred volunteers worked tirelessly to make this new annual Palo Alto tradition a huge success.