All roads lead to Banawe Street today (February 19) for Quezon City’s celebration of the Chinese New Year.
The festivity, organized by the QC government in partnership with the QC Association of Filipino-Chinese Businessmen, Inc. and the QC Chinatown Development Foundation, Inc., will feature fireworks display, lion and dragon dance, cultural and musical performances and Feng Shui forecasts, to highlight the colorful and diverse Chinese culture.
As an added treat, food establishments located in the city’s Chinatown District will be offering special discounts and promos during the festivity, which also forms part of QC’s continuing celebration of its diamond jubilee anniversary.
Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte will lead city officials during the Lunar New Year celebration, which is expected to further transform the Banawe commercial area into an authentic Chinatown hub.
The QC government, thru the Tourism Department, has also invited House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to the occasion. The development of Banawe Street as a special economic growth area has been provided under Ordinance 1573 approved by House Speaker Belmonte during his term as QC mayor on October 12, 2005.
Organizers have also invited Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua to the festivity.
QC’s celebration of the Chinese New Year will kick off with a motorcade at 4 p.m. at Banawe Street corner Quezon Avenue.
Aside from QC government officials and Filipino-Chinese business groups, the motorcade will be participated in by the members of the QC Council in District I; the reigning Miss Quezon City and her court; the officers and members of the Banawe Auto Parts and Accessories Association as well as members of the barangay councils of Sto. Domingo, Lourdes, Siena, St. Peter, Manresa, Tatalon and Doña Josefa.
Meanwhile, participants to the cultural presentations include students from the Philippine Cultural College, Philadelphia College, Lourdes School of Quezon, Angelicum College, Ramon Magsaysay High School and the National Orthopedic Hospital – School for Crippled Children.
Vice Mayor Belmonte, who also sits as officer-in-charge of the QC Tourism Department, has ordered the city’s department of public order and safety to deploy additional traffic enforcers to ensure the orderly movement of vehicles during the February 19 event.
A Chinese New Year countdown yesterday, February 18, on Banawe Street corner Quezon Avenue, was hosted by the QC Chinatown Business Association, Inc.
Aside from the countdown, the association also hosted a Torotot Festival to add glitter to the celebration.
Banawe Street, which has been classified as a major commercial zone under the city’s comprehensive zoning ordinance, is home to several Filipino-Chinese-owned businesses such as automobile parts and accessories, sales centers, restaurants and financial institutions.
Posted By: Edrillan Pasion
