West Oahu Welcomes In Chinese New Year

Was your New Year’s Eve so great that you cannot wait another year to celebrate it again?

Luckily, Chinese New Year is right around the corner, and West Oahu celebrates it this weekend.

Join the New Year’s Festival and Malassadas Day Celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Hawaii’s Plantation Village in Waipahu to honor the Year of the Horse with games, crafts and food. Plus, the Izumo Taishakyo Mission will offer New Year’s blessings.

The festival also features live entertainment by August Ahrens Elementary Music Ensemble along with Chinese lion dances, Korean dance, hula and more.

Ready to see what the Year of the Horse has to offer? Hawaii’s Plantation Village is located at 94-695 Waipahu St. Visit hawaiiplantationvillage.org.

Kapolei Commons also rings in Chinese New Year at 3 p.m. Saturday, featuring lion dances and a martial arts demonstration.

The shopping center hopes that its celebration can help customers welcome the new year with good luck. The dragon and lion dances, combined with the beat of the drum and the clash of the cymbals, are believed to ward off evil spirits.

The Chinese Lion Dance Association, a Hawaii-based group that has trav-eled to Hong Kong and Taiwan to compete in international lion dance tournaments, will perform.

For more good luck, Kapolei Commons will distribute Chinese red paper (lai see). Customers can place money in the envelope and “feed” it to the dancing lions.

Kapolei Commons is located at 4450 Kapolei Parkway. The celebration will take place in the parking lot near Ross Dress for Less and Verizon Wireless.

For more information, visit thekapoleicommons.com.