Members of the Filipino-Chinese community in Bacolod City gathered last night at the Bacolod Pavillon Resort Hotel at the Reclamation Area for a “Spring Festival Dinner” in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Nine groups also performed lantern dances at the North Capitol Road witnessed by a crowd of about 3,000 last night.

Fred Barcelona, former Bacolaodiat Festival chairman and president of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said there were about 32 Chinese organizations in Bacolod back in 2006 and this has grown to about 50.

These include family associations, business organizations, educational institutions, alumni associations, civic clubs, volunteer fire brigades, among others, Barcelona said.

Since the Chinese culture puts so much importance on family ties, the dinner was a form of grand reunion for them, he said.

Barcelona said that when Chinese people work abroad, they see to it that toward the end of the lunar calendar, they go back to their hometown to be reunited with their families.

When they are gathered, they make an offering to their ancestors and to the heavenly god for the good harvest because the Chinese before were mostly farmers, he said.

So all throughout the year, they dedicate their time and effort to farming and seldom have time for one another, he added.

Barcelona said the similarity between the Chinese and Filipino culture is that both put much importance on family ties.

They believe that the BacoLaodiat is the merging of these two cultures, he said.

The Chinese and Filipino people are both resilient despite calamities or adversities and still could manage to be happy, Barcelona said.

The “Spring Festival Dinner” form part of the celebration of the 9 th BacoLaodiat Festival that opened Thursday.

Activities for today are the “Ultimate BacoLaodiat Amazing Race” that starts at 2 p.m. at the PNB Park at Lacson Street, parade of mascots at 4 p.m., GMA Kapuso Night at 5 p.m. at the North Capitol Road featuring Camille Prats, Rafael Rosell and Pauleen Luna, Chinese Lantern parade at 7 p.m.

Awarding and closing ceremonies will be held at the North Capitol Road at 8:30 p.m. to be followed by fireworks display at 9 p.m.

A Spring Festival thanksgiving mass will be held at 8 a.m. tomorrow at the Queen of Peace Parish, followed by the first Robinson's Chinese singing master at 4 p.m. at Robinson's Place Bacolod, and SM BacoLaodiat' champion's day at SM City Bacolod at 5 p.m.*CGS

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