On February 21, over 250 attendees packed into our Rego Park Senior Center to celebrate the Lunar New Year.  The event kicked off with a choir-sung national anthem and continued with a variety of traditional Chinese dances. Performers donned colorful attire and props like fans and flags. Cultural pride was evident throughout the show, which Irina Sarkisova says is her top priority as QCH's Director of Senior Services.

"We want all of our participants to know that this center is their center," says Sarkisova. She regularly enlists the participants when planning large-scale community events. "We pass on the baton to our participants because, as community leaders themselves, they are able to inspire their own communities to connect with QCH." For this most recent celebration, participants recruited friends, family and neighbors to organize the performances, emcee the show, and prepare a traditional Chinese lunch for attendees.