Hundreds of Westwood residents celebrated Lunar New Year with an afternoon of cultural activities in Broxton Plaza on Feb. 21.
The Westwood Village Improvement Association hosted the inaugural celebration from noon to 5 p.m. Students and families participated in free activities – like a Lunar New Year themed photo booth – and bought items from several vendors selling clothing, food and beverages.
Lunar New Year marks the start of a new year, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. 2026 is the year of the horse, based on the calendar’s 12-year cycle, in which each year correspondsto a different animal.
Westwood is home to many people who celebrate Lunar New Year, making it an important holiday for WVIA to recognize, said Michael Russell, WVIA’s executive director, in an emailed statement.
“Westwood Village is home to a diverse community, including many international students and families,” Russell said in the statement. “With University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) next door, Lunar New Year is an important holiday for many in our neighborhood. We were inspired to create a meaningful way to recognize and celebrate that.”
He added in the statement that his goal was to create a sense of belonging for residents and students, while also highlighting local vendors.
Annabel Vu, the co-founder of Chandon House, a small batch syrup company from Orange County, said her business attended the event to participate in the holiday celebration. Chandon House provided samplesof three syrup flavors – including pandan, shiso and Madagascar vanilla, she added.
“What I usually recommend would be our pandan syrup,” Vu said. “Our pandan syrup is a leaf that’s typically found in Thai, Vietnamese or Filipino desserts. We call it the ‘Asian vanilla’. So, I love our pandas syrup. It’s delicious in coffee. It’s delicious in matcha.”
The event also featured hands-on games like cornhole and a painting station organized by Make Something LA, a local craft pop-up. Children were provided with small wooden hand drums and various colors of paint to decorate them with.
“It’s supposed to be our kids’ version of a traditional Chinese hand drum, which has little beads on the end that when you twist it, it’ll hit both sides,” said Brielle Catrinar, the founder of Make Something LA. “They’re decorating it however they want, you can use red and gold – traditional colors – or you can use whatever colors they’re doing.”
Nicole Guan, a third-year chemical engineering student who attended the event, said she and her boyfriend enjoyed the celebration. The event made her feel more connected to the Westwood community, she said.
“It really brings community together,” Guan said. “Nowadays, we lack third spaces where people can come together and not be on their phones and see people.”
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