Ray Chinese School’s Spring Festival Gala is set for 2:45PM to 6PM on Sat., Feb. 15, 2025, at Kennedy Junior High School, located in Naperville CUSD 203 at 2929 Green Trails Drive in Lisle.
It’s my favorite time of year again! Not because of the bitterly cold weather or the stress of exam season, but because of my culture’s biggest yearly celebration: Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival.
If we were in China, almost everyone would take at least a week off of work and school to ring in the New Year through a 15-day festival. Unfortunately, here in America, we can’t take a week off in the middle of February. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t celebrate.
Here in the Naperville area, we have our own Spring Festival hosted by Ray Chinese School (RCS). Every year, RCS hosts their Spring Festival Gala in honor of Chinese New Year to celebrate the diversity and spirit of our community,
I had the opportunity to speak with the President of RCS, Jinai Sun, who explained that the festival is “a time to honor traditions, embrace cultural diversity, and come together to recognize and celebrate our shared accomplishments.”
President Sun also highlighted the new addition of the Temple Fair to this year’s New Year festivities. The Temple Fair will bring “the lively atmosphere of a traditional Chinese market” here to Naperville for anyone looking to expand their cultural horizons.
Ray Chinese School’s Spring Festival Gala will take place on Sat., Feb. 15, 2025, at Kennedy Junior High. From 2:45PM to 4:15PM, you can walk the Temple Fair for a sample of hands-on Chinese tradition, and from 4:30PM to 6PM, you can enjoy the Gala’s rich cultural performance showcase.
Chinese New Year means so much to so many people, and I’m incredibly grateful that Naperville has the chance to have a taste of Chinese culture as we enter the Year of the Snake.
