CSF and Artreach host booths at John Muir Elementary

BY EILEEN ZHU

On Jan. 27, John Muir Elementary School held its first Lunar New Year Celebration fundraiser for the Chinese Language Immersion Program. Complete with a traditional lion dance, drum performances, craft and game booths and food trucks, it was a successful event that hundreds of students and parents attended.

“We were very happy that a lot of families came out to celebrate. It’s a time of togetherness, family, friends and celebrating,” said Loretta Lu, director of John Muir’s Lunar New Year Celebration. “I hope the students can learn about the cultures and history of the fun games and activities to bring American and Chinese cultures together.”

CSF members ran the concession stand, where they sold traditional Chinese snacks like pineapple cake as well as general party staples such as chips and glow sticks.

“I really liked volunteering at John Muir because I remember attending similar events when I was younger at my elementary school, so it was nice to be a part of making the event happen for other kids,” junior Ava Tse said.

Artreach volunteers hosted two booths to teach John Muir students how to make traditional Chinese toys: Chinese rattle drums, used to make noise in rituals and music; and shuttlecocks or 毽子 (jiànzi), meant to be played by kicking it up with the player’s feet. The Chinese Rattle

Drum is a traditional percussion instrument that originated in the Song Dynasty and is now often recreated in a miniature and simple form. Although often used by street vendors to make noise and attract the attention of customers, they are more commonly known as children’s toys.

At one booth, Artreach members led children in crafting their own rattle drums with mailing tubes, skewers, beads, string and cardstock paper. They glued cardstock and part of a mailing tube to form the drum body and used a skewer as the handle. The children then attached beads with string to either side of the drum body so that the beads hit alternating sides of the drum when the handle is spun, making the drumming noise.

At the second booth, members of Artreach taught students how to make their own shuttlecocks toys, or 毽子 (jiànzi). 毽子 (jiànzi) is a popular Chinese game from in the Han dynasty, meant to be played like hacky sack. The longer children are able to keep the weighted shuttlecock in the air by juggling it with their feet, the better they are at the game.

“I really enjoyed helping the kids make the toys,” sophomore Qia Zhang said. “I hope they had a lot of fun and that they are able to take away good memories from this event.”

Artreach also sold premade 毽子 (jiànzi) for students who