APSP, UCR’s Asian Pacific Student Program, hosted the Lunar New Year Festival last Wednesday at the Bell Tower. The atmosphere and liveliness of the campus celebrations warmly welcomed viewers into the celebration.

Alicia Nyein, an APSP intern and stage manager for the night stated, “APSP holds an event every quarter and this quarter it was the Lunar New Year Festival, which is a big cultural celebration for the clubs and a nice get together for UCR performers and everyone else to enjoy.”

The delicious smells of Korean BBQ and fried rice filled the air as loud music played.  There were at least 12 vendors and clubs selling a variety of food and drinks. In honor of the Lunar New Year, many tables had Asian food such as egg rolls and wontons, and drinks such as boba. There was also “dragon’s blood” available, which is a mixture of flavored syrups and milk. The recently founded Nikkei Student Union sold takoyaki,  a popular grilled Japanese treat similar to a  a savory pancake ball filled with several ingredients, such as octopus.
The stage was bathed in a warm glow of red light and decorated with traditional lanterns and New Year banners. With two APSP hosts, the flow of performers and speakers went smoothly. Many of
the performers were not associated with any clubs, but were simply talented UCR students. The night’s festivities included a performance by Not So Sharp Mixed A Capella, who preformed “Super Bass.” The Karate Club also showcased some of their best martial artists, demonstrating self defense, impressive sparring and literally throwing some of their members onto the ground.
Around 8 p.m., APSP’s highly anticipated headliner Pmac took the stage. Pmac is a twenty-year old rapper from the Bay Area whose YouTube videos have accumulated over 530,000 views and whose album “First Impressions” just recently came out. Pmac’s  music won the audience over. Pmac first began dabbling in music in the 7th grade during school recesses; he and his friends would rap and freestyle together. Although he strives to be on the top of the music world, his other passion is animation. He’s currently in school for animation and movie production, and his dream job is to work for Pixar. Even though Pmac is currently unsigned, he plans on working hard and spreading his music, hopefully getting a chance to prove himself and his music to the world.
After Pmac’s performance, the festivities came to a close. The Lunar New Year Festival was an exciting success thanks to APSP and all other organizations who participated to bring the year of the dragon in with a bang.