Local VIPs made sure the 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular's debut in Atlanta got off to a good start with a reception before the show. Noted speakers included Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia's fourth district and Isaac Newton Farris, nephew of the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and current President and CEO of the King Center in Atlanta.
Congressman Johnson wished the audience a happy Chinese New Year. Johnson told the audience, "[I'm] So happy to be here on this very festive occasion." "I bring you greetings from the halls of Congress in Washington DC."
Farris wished a very happy New Year to the members of the Chinese Diaspora in Georgia, and to Chinese people everywhere. "We're interested in some of the stuff happening in China," he said. "We know some of the people who organized this. Mrs. King was a good friend to them and we want to continue the relationship…[It] Wouldn't be the King Center if it didn't reach across racial lines."
One of those across racial lines friendships is with the Gandhi Foundation, which gave a bronze statue of Gandhi to the King Center a few years ago. Subash Razdam serves as Chairman the Board of the Gandhi Foundation and is President of the Asian Chamber of Commerce. He was beaming during the intermission. "I'm heartened to see you can entertain people without showing your skin." He praised the dignity and liveliness of the show. "It was not noisy, not loud, yet very athletic, very entertaining."
Gwinnett County Commissioner Charles Bannister was impressed by the show after the reception, wishing that his wife, who was home sick, had been able to accompany him. Bannister thought all the facets of the show were all very good. Bannister said, "The culture show like this has a big [economic] impact to bring Chinese to Atlanta." According to Bannister, Gwinnett County, with Asians making up 11% of the population, is the county with the fastest "diversification of the ethnic groups" in the U.S.
Nancy Quan-Sellers, Vice President, Brokerage of Galaxy Partners, a major Atlanta-based real estate firm said, "This was my very first show and I was pleasantly surprised." Quan-Sellers, who was born in Atlanta and is a Chinese-American, attended the Spectacular to take in the Chinese New Year celebration and genuine Chinese culture. Her favorite part of the show was the "Forsythia in Spring" dance. The forsythia flower's Chinese name literally means "the flower that welcomes spring."
The Epoch Times is proud to join with New Tang Dynasty T.V. and Sound of Hope Radio in co-sponsoring NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular . This article is one of a series meant to introduce this unique and important event.
Feeds