On Saturday, Feb. 10, Goodrich Hall came alive with the glow of red lanterns as the Chinese American Student Organization (CASO) welcomed in the Year of the Dragon. Elegantly attired students trickled into the main hall, excited to take part in CASO’s second annual Lunar New Year Gala.
CASO organized the gala to commemorate the Lunar New Year, an age-old holiday celebrated in several parts of Asia that marks the new year based on the lunar calendar. Typically, the holiday includes a feast and a gathering with family and friends.
As students entered Goodrich, they purchased raffle tickets in red envelopes, which they could use to participate in the gift raffle and other activities. The red envelopes were inspired by the tradition of children receiving red envelopes containing money as a symbol of good luck.
“It was really nice thinking of all these ways to keep our traditions from past years while also expanding them into different ways,” said Eddie Li ’26, co-chair of CASO.
At the back of Goodrich, students grabbed plates of catered food from Meng’s, a Pan-Asian restaurant in North Adams, and ate at round tables decorated with red tablecloths. These tables also included complimentary Chinese snacks. On the stage, a hand-drawn tattoo station led by CASO board members Cadence Li ’26 and Carissa Zhao ’27, as well as a portrait booth, where students posed for self-portraits drawn by CASO board member Jess Hu ’25. On the second floor, there were more tables for students to eat and socialize.
Shortly after students grabbed food and settled into their seats, performances began. Hu and CASO board member Alex Cumming ’25, who were the event’s emcees, opened the stage with a warm welcome and introduced the performers.
Most of the programming at the gala comprised these performances, which showcased a variety of singing and dancing by students. Performances included a cover of Laufey’s “From the Start,” a student-composed rap performance, a spoken word poem, and a traditional Chinese dance solo. Several dance groups also performed, including Asian Dance Troupe and hip-hop dance group Nothing But Cuties.
Li explained that CASO sought to cultivate a lineup of performers which hailed from a variety of backgrounds and styles. “We wanted a wide array of different performances,” he said. “Not only dances, but also instrumental music, singing — all of that. And I think what that did was provide a variety of things for people to enjoy.”
Sarah Hua ’24, a gala attendee, shared some of her favorite performances in an interview with the Record. “I really liked the rap,” she said. “It was really funny and caught me off guard.”
Aniya Smith ’26, another attendee, said that the performances were her favorite part of the gala. “I like seeing dances and everything,” she said. “It always inspires me.”
The audience also had the opportunity to get involved with the production. During intermission, the emcees invited members of the audience for a game of musical chairs, after which the winner received free raffle tickets for the event.
Meanwhile, the back of Goodrich displayed an assortment of prizes — ranging from a tea kit to mahjong tiles — which were part of a raffle ticket fundraiser. All proceeds were gathered for Heart of Dinner, a nonprofit for food-insecure Chinese elderly people in New York, and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. The fundraiser raised around $725, Li said.
Li said he believes in using CASO’s platform to support fundraisers. “We have a lot of privilege, in the sense that we can organize these large-scale events that people can attend,” he said.
The gala culminated with a celebratory toast led by Li and his co-chair Katherine Bai ’26. All attendees were invited to raise their glasses of apple cider in honor of the new year.
“It was a really cool moment because both Katherine and I were on stage … saying xīnnián kuàilè, which is ‘Happy Chinese New Year’ or ‘Happy Lunar New Year,’” Li said. “It brought the moment alive.”
When it came to planning such a large-scale event, Bai said she took inspiration from her childhood. “Part of it is kind of thinking about what images come to mind from my childhood [and] from my culture,” she said. “We thought [we] would showcase the culture and kind of give everyone a sense of what community really means.”
Bai and Li emphasized that the event was a collaboration across campus offices, including the Office for Campus Life, the Davis Center, and Office of Facilities.
Both chairs were grateful to the rest of entire CASO board — Rachel Chai ’25, Cumming, Will Ding ’24, Ida Fan ’26, Hu, Sunny Hu ’24, Erika Jing ’27, Marcus Lee ’26, Frances Leung ’25, Li, Melanie Wang ’27, Elijah Wu ’27, Zhao, and Jess Zhu ’25 — for helping make the event possible.
For Bai and Li, the gala was an important way to celebrate a culturally significant holiday for students who are away from home. “It was really important because it gave a lot of pan-Asian students a way to celebrate the holiday away from their families,” Li said.
“I also heard from friends, ‘I usually celebrate this at home with family so this was the first time I could celebrate it at school, but still feel like I have this family or this community with me,’” Bai added.
Looking ahead to next year, Bai said she hopes to recruit performers from outside the College. “I think it would be cool to somehow reach out to [the] local community … and see what’s out in the Berkshires,” she said.
Overall, Bai said, the event holds meaning beyond fostering community. “Lunar New Year represents a sense of togetherness but also new beginnings,” she said. “I think that, especially as the spring semester is about to start … it was a way for people to appreciate the past year, but also appreciate … everything that life and college has to offer.”
