The Lunar New Year is a major public holiday in many countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Many international students who celebrate this holiday often feel homesick nearing this time of the year because they don’t get any days off and the holiday atmosphere is not as rich as it is in their home countries.

However, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) is planning a Lunar New Year Gala for students and faculty members who want to get involved in the Lunar New Year spirit… and it’s more boisterous than ever.

This year’s Lunar New Year Gala is divided into two nights, which are Feb. 18 in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union at 5 p.m. and Feb. 23 in the Ames City Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.

The event on Feb.18 is geared toward students and includes three elements: games, dinner and the talent show.

The games portion of the gala is similar to a scenario in most state fairs. The difference is workers of CSSA will give each student a stamp card. 

Students will go to game booths of their choice and try to win as many games as they can, and the winner of each game gets a stamp on his or her card. At the end of the night, participants count the stamps and redeem cards for prizes like gift cards, cultural souvenirs or Chinese snacks.

Dinner at the gala is authentic Chinese food prepared by ISU Dinning chefs and CSSA workers. They promise no “fake” Chinese food will be served.

The application for the talent show is open until Jan. 27. Students who want to showcase their special talent can send their full names and a short description of their performances to [email protected]. 

Once the performances are chosen, they will receive an email regarding the time and location of the audition from CSSA. During the talent show, CSSA will host several giveaways to the audience, prizes include a 4k TV and Apple products.

The second part of the Lunar New Year Gala, which is on Feb. 23, is a professional Chinese stage performance given by a group of experienced performers of the Department of Culture of the Jiangxi province of China. This group has brought traditional Chinese culture worldwide. Beijing Opera, Chinese acrobatics and Chinese folk dance are all on their program list.

Both nights of the Gala are free and open to all Iowa State students, faculty members and Ames residents.