This content was published: January 27, 2010. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Southeast Center to celebrate year of the tiger
Photos and story by James Hill
Portland Community College’s Southeast Center will celebrate the year of the Tiger with music, entertainment, food, vendors, door prizes and much more.
Performers put on a lion dance during the 2009 Asian New Year Celebration at Legin Restaurant next to the Southeast Center.
The center (2305 S.E. 82nd Ave.) welcomes the public to its annual Asian New Year Celebration at 9:30 a.m., Monday, Feb. 15, at Legin Banquet Hall (8001 S.E. Division St). Admission and parking are free. The event is perfect for children as it features a lion dance, Asian dances, martial arts, face painting, demonstrations on how to use chopsticks and paper lantern-cutting, and plenty of games and activities. There also will be various art products for sale and the PCC Zen Dragon Boat team will be signing up recruits. Plenty of food will be served and is $1.
“In addition to our annual celebration of Asian cultures, we will offer Southeast Portland residents an opportunity to help us develop a vision for the new PCC Southeast Campus that will include a new library, science labs, a career technical building and 20 additional classrooms,” said Nan Poppe, Southeast Center and Extended Learning Campus President.
Lien Le knows all about the effects of how an Asian New Year Celebration can bring the community together. Before she was born, her parents came to the U.S. from Vietnam, but grew up learning and following Vietnamese traditions for New Years. The radiology and paralegal student is the chair of the Asian New Year Committee and said the aim is to make the event family-friendly.
“I think of family coming together and having fun, connecting with each other,” Le said. “With the Southeast Center and the surrounding diverse community, it falls under the same category to me because I think the community and PCC gathers together like a family to have fun with each other, sharing and getting to know new people and just having a big celebration.”
One of Le’s favorite parts is the bazaar held at the Southeast Center leading up to the Asian New Year. Because of the variety of goods on sale, she said it’s a chance to get nifty items from vendors on Feb. 9-10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at the celebration.
“I have had tons of fun organizing the New Year this year,” Le said. “I’ve also learned a lot and it was a great opportunity for me to learn more organization skills, leadership skills, and also to how to run a meeting. It is a great chance to get together with your diverse community and see what everyone is up too. There will be a lot of fun, cheap and delicious food, and great entertainment.”
District President Preston Pulliams and Poppe will provide welcoming remarks and Dean of Instruction and Student Development Craig Kolins will wrap up the event. Leading up to the Asian New Year Celebration vendors will be selling a variety of arts and crafts in the Great Hall of the Southeast Center from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 9 and 10.
For more information about the Southeast Center Asian New Year Celebration, call Lien Le at (503) 788-6262, or e-mail lien.le3@pcc.edu
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »