9 February 2016
PAYCE joins in celebrating Chinese New Year in Riverwood
More than 200 local residents and their families turned out to celebrate the Chinese New Year and to welcome in the Year of the Monkey at a community function at the Riverwood Community Centre this week (Monday 8 February).
Hosted by the Canterbury Harmony Group, guests were treated to a morning of music, performances, raffles and lucky door prizes, before enjoying a lunch of traditional servings. Those fortunate to be born in a year of the monkey were presented with a special gift.
For the past four years, PAYCE has been a gold sponsor of the local lunar festivities, which showcases the area’s rich cultural diversity.
Visitors were welcomed to this year’s event by Canterbury Deputy Mayor, Clr Karl Saleh and the Member for Lakemba, Mr Jihab Dib.
“This is not just a day for the Chinese, but a great day for the whole community,” Mr Saleh said. “It’s a great day to bring all different types together to celebrate the Year of the Monkey.”
The Lunar New Year event is steeped in tradition, including the handing out of red envelopes with money inside to winners of the raffle.
Traditional entertainment included demonstrations of the Chinese dances of Shuixiu and Uyghur and ballroom dancing by the locally-based dance troupe and performances on the ancient musical instrument, the guzheng, by residents of Washington Park.
PAYCE’s Managing Director, Brian Boyd said it had become a great tradition across Australian cities and towns to join in celebrating the beginning of the Lunar New Year.
“PAYCE was thrilled to again be part of this year’s celebrations organised by the Canterbury Harmony Group and the Riverwood Chinese Dancing Group,” he said.
“This special event is a wonderful opportunity for families to come together and celebrate with their friends and the local community.”
PAYCE’s General Manager, Dominic Sullivan said the Chinese New Year celebrations were one more way for the community to come together and share the traditions and cultures of other countries.
“The residents of Riverwood have embraced the rich cultural diversity of their community and always display strong support for the many cultural festivities that take place through the year,” he said.
“On behalf of PAYCE, I extend our best wishes for good health, good fortune and longevity to everyone who celebrates the Lunar New Year.
The Riverwood and greater Canterbury area has many families with Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese backgrounds and they can look forward to exciting opportunities and the prospect of a prosperous year ahead in the Year of the Monkey.
The monkey’s characteristics include playfulness, curiosity and cheekiness and as this year is also the year of fire, traditionally it makes it the year of the fire monkey and signals the time to act, innovate and be creative.
