Posted on Fri, Feb. 16, 2007

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Chinese Culture Day in Pleasanton seeks to make community 'family'

By Eric Louie

CONTRA COSTA TIMES

PLEASANTON - In her native China, Amy Liu would be visiting relatives, sitting down with them for meals on multiple days to celebrate the upcoming new year.

But on Sunday -- New Year's Day on the lunar calendar --she and about 600 others will be extending that tradition to the community at large, with a potluck dinner at Amador Valley High in Pleasanton as part of the fourth annual Tri-Valley Chinese Culture Day.

"It's kind of an extended family," said Liu, a volunteer with the Pleasanton-based Chinese American Cooperation Council, which is holding the event.

It is the first time a potluck has been part of this event, most of which is free to the public. It is expected to draw about 2,000 throughout the day to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The upcoming year is 4705, represented by the pig on the 12-animal zodiac.

For many local Chinese Americans, Liu said, relatives can be far away. "Here, a lot of us have one family here."

A Pleasanton resident for nine years, Liu and her husband came to the United States almost two decades ago for college and have a son in middle school. Liu, who directs the sociology graduate program at CSU Sacramento, said while her husband has relatives in the East Bay, hers are in China and Canada.

Organizers said the timing of Sunday's event on New Year's Day was by chance, as this year it falls on a weekend and scheduling for the facilities can be tight. But they made it a point to involve the community more in one of the most important parts of Chinese culture -- food. At past Culture Day events, food was included in the ticket price; the potluck approach, however, allows participants to bring something that represents themselves.

"Each family has a special dish," said Andrew Wang, director of this year's event. "The purpose is everyone gets involved."

Besides the diversity organizers hope to bring by attracting other ethnic groups, attendees will also see the diversity of cultures within China through the food, Liu said. Their nonprofit organization's goal is to promote cultural heritage and friendship in the Chinese American community and facilitate business exchange and cooperation between people in the United States and China.

Before the potluck there will also be a competition for making jiao-zi, a Chinese boiled dumpling. Teams of 12 will sit at tables, their work judged on both speed of assembly and taste. Organizers are providing the ingredients for the dish, which varies by recipe and can include ground pork, green onions, ginger, sesame oil and cabbage.

Organizers of Sunday's event said the dish is from the northern part of China, though it has now become more common in many parts of the country. Liu said families commonly sit down together, folding the dumplings before New Year's Day.

The process itself, she said, has meaning.

"The tradition is the family can talk and chat," Liu said. "It's a family activity."

Organizers said registration for the jiao-zi competition and potluck is closed, but walk-ins are welcome.

In addition to the eating, the event also features numerous other activities more typical of other local New Year's events. A stage program starting at 3 p.m. has martial arts, aerobics, choir, gu-zheng (a string instrument resembling a zither) and dance performances by students from the Chinese American Cooperation Council's weekend school. There will also be mahjong and other activities for seniors and karaoke

After the free events earlier in the day, there will also be an evening of performances. Those in the program are mostly Bay Area residents who have played in a wide range of performance companies both in the United States and China. The night includes ballet, dance, singing, violin, opera, circus and er-hu (a type of stringed instrument).

Tickets, which early Friday were almost sold out, are $15. Child care will be provided free.

Eric Louie covers education. Reach him at elouie@cctimes.com or 925-847-2123.