Southern Oregon Chinese Cultural Association (SOCCA) has scheduled the Chinese New Year celebration in Jacksonville, Oregon for Saturday, Feb.8, 2020.

It will be the Year of the Rat and SOCCA’s 61-foot dragon, the ‘Mighty One’ will awaken and once again grace Jacksonville’s traditional downtown Chinese New Year Parade with his appearance.  Accompanying the Mighty One will be lions and dragons, danced by local students who trained at SOCCA’s Lion and Dragon Dance Clinic under the tutelage of Master Wally Chow of the Portland based Northwest Dragon & Lion Dance Association

The parade will start at 10AM and the community is invited to join our procession.  It will be followed throughout the day by a number of entertaining presentations, children’s arts and crafts, a cooking demonstration of Zao Shen’s Sweet and Spicy Ahi Poke and a Main Program presenting magician Calvin Kai Ku’s “Lunar Illusions” at the Bigham Knoll Ballroom.  Go to www.socca.us to sign-up for the parade and the complete listing of our programs.

Chinese Lunar New Year falls on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice: this year it is actually on January 25th but it is customary to celebrate the New Year for 15 days until the full moon, which is called the Lantern Festival. The ‘Rat’ in the Chinese Zodiac cycles in twelve years and each animal also cycles in conjunction with five Elements: metal (or gold), wood, water, fire and earth.  According to Chinese Astrology this will be the year of the “Golden Rat,” which only happens once every 60 years.  The rat is a prolific and relentless animal.  Personified, a rat is a determined, diligent and excellent problem solver: and the “Golden Rat” confers upon those born this year even more success and good fortune.

As a kick-off event on Saturday, January 25th, SOCCA will be presenting a booktalk event from 1PM to 2:30PM at the Grizzly Peak Winery, 1600 Nevada Street, in Ashland.  Join author Francis Pring-Mill in A Guided Journey into the Tao Te Ching: for an engaging talk on his book In Harmony with the Tao as applicable to everyday life in this modern world.   Tao Te Ching 道德經 is compilation of the principle of harmony as taught and practiced by Chinese sage Lao Tzu 老子 in the 6th century b.c.e.   These verses, philosophy and teachings is the basis in Taoism: dealing with peace and harmony.

Come join us in these Chinese New Year events.