The first Wednesday of February, Webb hosted its highly anticipated Lunar New Year community dinner. From the loud drums to a wide range of cultural food, the Webb community came together to celebrate one of the most one of the most widely celebrated holidays of the year. 

To open the dinner, the Webb community gathered in Liu Cheung to hear students from China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and the Philippines share personal stories of Lunar New Year celebration. Hosted by the ISLs, this event included a lion dance performance from the San Gabriel Valley Chinese Cultural Association, as well as food provided by Webb parents. For instance, the ISLs also collaborated with other groups such as the Asian Affinity, the cooking club, and the Art Club, all of which hosted activities in the Stockdale Community Center.   

“I thought it was really cool how they showed us how different cultures celebrate Lunar New Year,” Freya Fu (‘26) said.   

With such a large international student population at Webb, especially from Asia, this holiday is one of the most beloved and widely celebrated across many different cultures. After the exceptionally successful dinner last year, the ISLs made sure to provide an even wider range of foods and bright decorations.  

“The event was so amazing! I had so many dumplings! My favorite food was the steamed pork buns — those were so tasty,” Alyssa Xu (‘24) said.  

Upon entering Liu Chueng, each student received three tickets from the head waiters — one ticket per station. With tickets, they were able to get food provided by Webb parents like steamed pork buns, fried dumplings, sesame balls, and osmanthus rice cakes. After using up the tickets, they could still grab any foods from the dining hall buffet like lumpia, Japanese curry, bok choy eggplant curry, and tteokbokki.  

In addition to the tasting stations, the art club offered activities such as calligraphy, paper cutting, GO, and tea tasting in Stockdale.   

“We hoped to let every student experience the art of calligraphy, so we provided completed calligraphy as examples for students who don’t know how to practice calligraphy,” said Michael Fu (‘24), president of the art club.  

Ultimately, celebrating holidays such as Lunar New Year creates community and a sense of home for students, staff, and faculty alike.  

“We surveyed and communicated with the other affinity groups to ask for Lunar New Year activities,” said Annie Huang (‘24), an ISL. “Our goal for the event is to have it be culturally inclusive for everyone and for them to feel comfortable expressing their culture at Webb.”