Toned-down party still rocks for ox

A one-day Chinese New Year festival in Colorado Springs on Saturday offered a taste of a once-obscure culture, celebrating Chinese cuisine, customs and language.

The free event was held to honor the Year of the Ox and drew about 2,000 people to the City Auditorium in downtown Colorado Springs.
There were dance and martial-arts demonstrations, vendors offering traditional apparel and jewelry, and the chance to enroll children in an extracurricular program at the Colorado Springs Chinese Language School.

The eighth annual event was put on by the Colorado Springs Chinese Cultural Institute.

Its primary goal: engaging the Pikes Peak community in a rich but sometimes unfamiliar culture.

The festival also proved to be a meeting place for native Chinese to gather and celebrate.

That was the case with May, Jane, and Irene Bombria, young natives of Jiangxi province in southern China who were adopted by a Fountain couple.

Wearing traditional Chinese dresses, the girls danced and played with a lion dancer in an elaborate costume - a fixture at Chinese holiday celebrations and a virtual kid magnet here and abroad.

"If you ignore (their heritage), it's disrespectful. But it's a lot of fun, too," said Holly Bombria, who adopted the girls with her husband, Chris.

The celebration was scaled down this year, with vendor booths reserved only for sponsors and groups with direct ties to China and Chinese culture.

The move was designed to preserve the festival's ethnic identity, organizers said.

"It's smaller but more focused, and that was by choice," said Herman Tiemens, president of the Colorado Springs Chinese Culture Institute.

Several observers said interest in Chinese language and culture is on the rise as that country's global profile continues to grow. China Travel & Tour, a Boulder tour company, was looking to recruit new clients who may wish to see the country in person.

"It's still exotic, but it's a lot more feasible for Americans to go and travel," said Gina Hander, who sells trips to academics, business students and all-purpose travelers.