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."

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

Organizers said the timing of Sunday's event with New Year's Day came by chance, as this year New Year's Day 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 that organizers hope to bring by attracting other ethnic groups, attendees will also see the diversity of cultures within China through the food, Liu said. The nonprofit organization's goal is to promote cultural heritage and friendship in the Chinese-American community and facilitate business exchanges and cooperation between people in the United States and China.

Before the potluck, there will be a competition for making jiao-zi, a Chinese boiled dumpling. Teams of 12 will sit at tables, with 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 said the dish is from the northern part of China, although it has now become more common in many parts of the country. Liu said families commonly sit down together to fold 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 food, the event features numerous other activities more typical of other local New Year's Day events. A stage program starting at 3 p.m. will feature 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 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 for the evening performances, 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.

Tri-Valley Chinese Culture Day

WHERE: Amador Theater at Amador Valley High, 1155 Santa Rita Road, Pleasanton

WHEN: 3-10 p.m. Sunday

INFORMATION: http://www.caccusa.org/

COST: Free from 3 to 7 p.m., with activities including a carnival, stage performances, vendor booths and arts exhibition. A jiao-zi making competition will be held at 4 p.m., with a potluck dinner at 5 p.m. At 7 p.m. there will be an evening performance featuring professional performers of varying talents, with tickets $15.