Kent Place Welcomes the Year of the Horse with Lunar New Year Celebration

On February 25, the Kent Place community gathered for its annual Lunar New Year Celebration. Families, students, faculty, and friends packed the Great Room, which was beautifully decorated in festive red and gold, to ring in the new year. The event was hosted by the Diversity and Equity Parent Group, in partnership with the Community Life and Well-Being Office.

The community explored a range of hands-on activities — among them calligraphy, lantern crafting, and even dumpling-making — to take part in Lunar New Year traditions. Students also enjoyed games and raffles, with many prizes. A long table displayed an array of delicious traditional dishes for all to enjoy as they waited for the performance program to begin.

The night kicked off with a stunning Dunhuang dance, Sun and Moon Mural, performed by Angie Ge ’28 and visiting students SueAnn Liu and Caroline Ye, followed by the Kindergarten and First Grade Chorus singing “The Year of the Horse.” 

Next, Ellen Duan ’38, Elaine Hsu ’38, Dorothy Huang ’38, and Evelyn Wu ’38 recited the poem “Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night,” with a lively dance performance by Lexi Applegate ’35, Jasmine Chan ’35, Morgan Chin ’36, Madison Hsueh ’36, Cici Jiang ’36, Anna Li ’36, Mia Sun ’36, Olivia Wang ’35, Avery Yan ’35, Cristy Zhang ’35, and Vivian Zuo ’36.

Another highlight was the K-Pop dance performance to popular songs “Jump” and “Golden” by Victoria Clark ’36, Catherine Pih ’35, Charlotte Pih ’34, Elliot Pyo ’37, Eloise Rhee ’37, Madeleine Rhee ’34, Halle Rosefort ’34, and Lekha Venkat ’37. A heartfelt New Year Blessing followed, performed by the Hummingbirds. 

Blending cultures and styles, the Hip Hop and Traditional Fusion Dance brought together Evie Ge ’36, Elaine Hsu ’38, Miya Luo ’40, Penelope Pollini ’35, Isabella Singh ’38, Stella Wang ’40, Andy Wu ’40, Angela Wu ’38, Evelyn Wu ’38, Amelia Xie ’38, Isabella Yeung ’38, and Charlotte Zhang ’39.

The evening concluded with a festive Dragon Dance and a visit from the Money God. As the dragon wove through the audience and good wishes were shared, cheers and laughter filled the room.