“Hoppy” Endings: Success at Verona Lunar New Year Celebration

VERONA, NJ - On Tuesday, January 31, 2023, the town of Verona celebrated the Lunar New Year with a dazzling celebration at the Community Center. With hundreds of attendees and a dozen different incredible cultural performances, the event was a huge success.

The evening began with welcome remarks from event hosts Steven Neale and Jennifer Kleinknecht. The celebration kicked off with the lion dance performance by Liu Lina Art Troupe, which set a lively and energetic tone for the night.

Several prominent guests, including Roman, Mayor of Verona Town Council, Pam Priscoe, President of BOE and Dr. Charlie Miller from Verona School, then took to the stage. They acknowledge Verona's long history of learning Chinese, a tradition that continues to flourish in the community.

Verona High School, led by Chinese teacher Betty Hou, also joined the celebration, showcasing their talents with an exciting fashion show. To everyone's delight, HBW Middle School teacher Jenny Qin and Primary teacher Angie Yang participated in the fashion show. The High School also performed the unforgettable "Story of a Small Village", sung by Nicholas C and accompanied by Christopher S, on guitar from Mandarin IV Honors.

HB Whitehorne's Secondary students also put on a fantastic show, including a variety of music and dance performances. From the sixth grade, the students performed "Two Tigers" and "If You Are Happy". The seventh-grade students performed "It's Beautiful to Smile" and the traditional fan dance, which brought joy to the audience. The eighth-grade students wowed the audience with a ribbon dance and Kung Fu performance of "Good Morning Long Hong!"

The highlight of the evening was the acrobatics segment, which included dynamic performances of Chinese yo-yos, Chinese umbrellas and turntable balancing tricks. The audience also enjoyed the traditional face-changing performance, which added a strong cultural atmosphere to the celebration. At the end of an unforgettable night of celebration, everyone took a group photo to remember the energy and enthusiasm with which the community came together.

Overall, the Lunar New Year celebration in Verona Town was a complete success, with a large number of participants and a strong cultural atmosphere, which enhanced the auspicious feeling of the Year of the Rabbit.