Asian Student Union and the International Student Association co-hosted a Lunar New Year event Feb. 27 at Pomerantz Stage in the Olmsted Center. Over 50 people enjoyed delicious food, games and a lion dance performance by the Japanese Association of Iowa. 

ASU President Vanisha Krishnani spent three weeks planning the event with ISA. She emphasized the importance of interacting with new people and different cultures in both planning and attending the Lunar New Year Celebration. 

“We want to ensure that people from all different parts of the world and people here [Des Moines] all get to embrace different cultures,” Krishnani said. “All cultures have something new to offer and participate in and understanding their importance is incredibly valuable.”

One of the games at the event involved handwritten fortunes in red envelopes, a traditional sign of good luck in many Asian cultures. The game used color-coded envelopes to sort people into different teams so that attendees could get to know each other. Then, tables competed as teams in a trivia game to answer questions related to the Lunar New Year.

“At the end, the team that won the most got a bag of mandarins and these really cute Lunar New Year Figures,” Krishnani said. “We really wanted to combine [different cultural] elements for this activity.”

Krishnani’s favorite activity was the lion dance performance because it showcased the “authentic cultural elements of this [the Lunar New Year] festival.”

The event also included a video with different clips from several countries that demonstrated how other cultures celebrate Lunar New Year to showcase the importance of the event, highlighting both the significance and diversity of the festival around the world. 

Veronica Meiss contributed to reporting.