克利夫兰及周边地区消息
　

阿克倫市2022中國新年慶祝活動

   放眼整個俄亥俄州,要求所有學生必修中文的學校可謂寥寥無幾,而位于阿克倫市中心的STEM學校就是其中的一所,並且中文是唯一的外語,體現了中國文化的敎學在這所學校中的重要性。但要同時敎授200多個7、8年級學生的中文對我來説確實是一種很大的挑戰,我盡了個人最大的努力,嘗試和改進各種敎學方法,目的是讓這些孩子們儘可能地學好中文。那么如何讓這群生活在市區(urban city)的年輕美國學生眞正瞭解中國語言的博大精深和深厚的文化底藴,提陞他們對古老東方文化的興趣呢?舉辦春節慶祝活動就是很有效的一種形式。自2012年來,每逢新春佳節,我們全校師生和家長都會歡聚在學校禮堂熱熱鬧鬧地慶祝中國新年。我本人負責節目策劃、服裝、音樂聲控、主持稿編寫、邀請貴賓兼導演,學生們按照分工認眞準備各自的表演節目,90分鐘的文藝節目都是由學生們主持、表演。節目之後,所有師生都會美美地享受中國飯店精心準備的中國傳統美味菜肴。中國新年慶祝活動已成爲全校一大特色和傳統,也是每個學生最向往最開心的一天。
   由於疫情原因,學校已兩年沒有舉辦春節慶祝活動了。一月初,我突然收到阿克倫市政府負責人的郵件,希望我能幫助他們籌劃慶祝中國新年,這眞是天大的好消息,而且這是市里第一次慶祝中國新年活動。我們學校有多家合作夥伴,包括阿克倫大學,阿克倫動物園、國家公園等,阿克倫市政府也是其中一個合作夥伴。這位負責人作爲家長八年前連續五年親眼目睹我爲學校籌備的大規模的中國新年慶祝活動,而她手下具體負責活動的Elizabeth新官上任,對中國文化欠瞭解,便主動和我聯繫,虛心請敎活動編排流程。在這種大環境不是很樂觀的情况下,我全心全力積極參與,即便每天工作繁忙,只要市里需要開zoom會議討論,無論多晩我都會參加。我們短時間內共同謀劃,從音樂準備、聯繫表演嘉賓,到現場準備、排列表演清單和最後發廣吿邀請觀衆,終于在2月12日元宵節前夕,迎來了第一次和市民一起慶祝中國新年。整個晩會現場張燈結綵,沉浸在一片火紅、熱鬧、溫馨的氛圍中。近800名阿克倫市社區朋友近距離現場觀賞了藝術家和STEM學生們共同奉獻的舞獅、舞龍、武術、變臉和腰鼓等的表演,親身感受到了中華傳統文化的魅力,領略了中國文化的深厚底藴。最令我興奮的是在這些精彩的表演節目後,有長達12分鐘的帶有濃鬱中國特色的煙花秀。雖然當天氣溫只有零下六度,但當我站在阿克倫市中心廣場,耳沐着喜慶洋洋的中國音樂,望着一顆顆中國式的煙花飛向籃球運動詹姆斯故鄉阿克倫的天空時,感動得淚水在眼眶打轉。現場來了不少華人同胞,我相信他們一定和我當時的心情一樣:雖身在海外,但我們一直心系中國,希望中美迎來美好的春天。


   我相信這種形式的現場文化表演要比我在敎室上一節100分鐘的文化課更有感染力;這種大型文化活動也會潜移默化地提高美國人對中國語言和文化的興趣和理解,給他們留下深刻的印象。當時的我深深體會到了作爲一名中文語言和文化傳播者的光榮和驕傲,一個月以來爲準備慶祝新年活動的疲勞和緊張感也煙消雲散,心情無比愉悅。雖然今年STEM學校不能全校大規模慶祝中國新年,但我們依然進行了15天的小規模慶祝。新年第一天,200個中文學生歡唱“新年好”開始了中國新年的慶祝,並通過阿克倫大學邀請了太極師傅給十個班的學生敎授太極,元宵節當天,全校還舉行了小型的全校慶祝活動。
   在此我特別感謝阿克倫市政府策划了本次的新年慶祝活動,也同時感謝其他一起參與策劃的阿克倫大學、AsiaInc., lock 3, knight foundation, Akron Community Foundation等單位以及我自己STEM學校的大力支持,並由衷感謝爲這次活動成功舉辦的表演嘉賓包括高森師傅、張maochang師傅、克利夫蘭Kwan family lion dance以及Glory Drum Team of Cleveland。最感謝的是伊利華報浦瑛老師再一次給我機會將這次慶祝分享給社區。最讓我引以爲豪的是,由於本次活動的成功舉辦,阿克倫市政府今後將更加重視多元化文化,近日已將明年的中國新年慶祝排上日程,選好了慶祝地點和日期。我驕傲,要爲兔年的新年慶祝更加努力。

我期待着明年的“兔”年。
STEM中學中文老師---梁晴
　

　

STEM高中學生歡度中國新年感想
　
   This was the first community event I took on being newly hired as DAPs Director of Engagement and Events. When I moved to
Akron from Lakewood I wanted to focus on building engagement and challenging me by planning an event DAP hadn’t done before.
   When I learned that Lunar New Year was a celebration DAP had been thinking about pursuing for quite some time, I hit the floor
running.
   I worked closely with community partners to plan and execute the evening and continue to be such in awe of the levels
of appreciation, kindness, and patience that were given in my relatively new role. After two years of a global pandemic,
seeing the Lock 3 Commons full of people with smiling faces was a heartwarming glimmer of normalcy, a promise for what the
future may bring. I am so happy to have the opportunity to promote diversity and inclusion downtown and to bring the community
together. I'm excited to dedicate energy to the event in coming years, especially as the Confucius Institute–the organization
that formerly hosted New Year festivities–is closing this June.
My hope for Akron’s new Lunar New Year tradition: “That it can continue to grow and become an annual event so that we
can continue to celebrate the diversity that makes Akron so special.”
-Elizabeth Flanagan, Director of Engagement and Events，Downtown Akron Partnership
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   This is my second year at STEM High School and my first year participating in Chinese New Year. My first time experiencing
Chinese New Year was in sixth grade. I watched my brother perform for Chinese New Year at STEM Middle School. It was so fun to
watch something so different from what I was used to. This year I finally got to participate in the event. I wore a red and
gold dress and got to greet people and give out red envelopes. It was amazing to watch people celebrate their holiday, their
excitement and joy at seeing their holiday celebrated. It was so fun getting to talk to people, who don’t celebrate Chinese
New Year, and see their expressions as they watch something, wholly unique and vibrant from their everyday lives. The whole
event was so exciting, getting to immerse yourself in another culture is an amazing experience I am happy to have been a part
of.
JoriPresutti, 彭丽丽STEM高中十年级学生
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   My name is Jaeden Dancy and for the past few years at NIHF STEM Middle School I have been only watching the Chinese New Year
celebrations but this year, I was able to participate in the celebrations and enjoy the experience and the atmosphere of the
Chinese New Year. The main activities that I participated in were being a panda, passing out red envelopes with chocolate and
money, and doing tai chi with my fellow pandas. The days before the celebration were very anxious for me and I was extremely
excited to participate and enjoy the event. Throughout the event, everything was fast-paced and sometimes we had to improvise
on what we were doing so we kept the visitors entertained as well as staying committed to our job. This was truly an amazing
experience and event and I would love to do it again; from the people to being dressed as a panda, everything added to a fun
and amusing experience. The most amazing thing about the environment was the decorations and culture and the people who
understood the magnitude of the event and were part of Chinese culture. The most entertaining aspect of my role in the
celebration was gathering lots of 红包 or red envelopes and running as a panda to distribute them to the people in attendance.
--Jaeden Dancy 杜杰达STEM中学八年级学生

　

   The Chinese New Year event at Lock 3 was incredible. There were so many unique acts that were performed by amazing,
talented people. Martial arts, dragon dances, fireworks, the list go on, and you could tell the crowd took in and enjoyed
every second of it. I, myself, have participated and watched a couple of performances. However, this one is easily my favorite
of all the years performed. There were so many people watching that the performance area was nearly overflowing with people.
   The performance was great, and I can hardly wait for next year’s festival!
Casey Renner,任凯司 STEM高中九年级学生