A dancing dragon is planned to get the community fired up.
Geraldine woman Mia Tran has been organising a lunar new year celebration for the pupils of Geraldine Kindergarten, but said ‘‘it just escalated’’ and now the community was invited.
Ms Tran said when her oldest child started at the kindergarten, his teachers wanted to know about traditions on his Vietnamese side.
She said growing up in Vietnam the lunar new year was ‘‘such a big thing’’.
She said during the three months leading up to the event children were fizzing with excitement.
‘‘We couldn’t stop talking about it.
‘‘The food, the decorations, what we would wear.’’
For the children — and unmarried adults — there was also the excitement of how many red envelopes they might receive and how much money would be tucked inside each one.
Ms Tran moved to Australia in her early 20s, where she later met her partner James Hill.
She said it was not until she moved to Geraldine for their children to be close to Mr Hill’s parents that she felt ‘‘a sense of belonging’’.
For her it was one of the main reasons for hosting the event.
‘‘It is a way of saying thank you for accepting me.’’
She said her children were ‘‘thriving’’ in Geraldine.
For her oldest child Minh (who is almost 4) she felt the kindergarten was an integral part of this success.
He also loved spending time with his granddad fixing things ‘‘like the ride-on mower’’.
And as for Poppy (who is almost 2), ‘‘she loves sitting on her grandma’s lap listening to stories’’.
Ms Tran said her partner’s parents were quite adventurous and tried a lot of Asian food.
She said the easiest way to learn about another culture was through food.
At this stage, the festival — to be held on February 17, 2024
— would take place in Wilson St with the main event at the kindergarten.
Along with international foods, crafts and street performances, the children would be able to enjoy watching a dragon dance and taiko (Japanese drums), before red envelopes would be handed out to children.
Ms Tran said there would be ‘‘a Kiwi take’’ on what was found inside those envelopes.
