The festivities concluded with a grand Chinese New Year's parade and celebration on a warm and beautiful Saturday morning of February 7.  This event was attended by several thousand people.  Lion dancers with drummers from San Francisco and a large dragon marked the parade.  A competitive road race called "The Roaming Buffalo" of almost two hundred people kicked off the Year of the Ox.  Several Chinese cultural events followed such as an extensive fashion show featuring authentic costumes of China's many ethnic groups and a wushu demonstration by Shaolin disciples from Henan Province who had mastered Gong Fu at the Shaolin temple in Dengfeng.  

Most encouragingly, The Confucius Classroom at St. Mary's School provided a mini-Confucius Classroom experience for elementary school children.  The children proceeded through several fun-filled stations where they were introduced to Chinese calligraphy, mask and puppet making, Chinese hop-scotch, and tai chi.  At each station the students received a mark on their Confucius Classroom "report cards" and were given a Confucius Classroom "diploma" and traditional Chinese toy when they completed the "curriculum."  Several hundred children participated to the delight of their parents.   

Chinese New Year Celebration
Jacksonville, Oregon