The 8th OC Lantern Festival was held on February 18th, 2023, and it was AMAZING! Thousands of people from all walks of life gathered to celebrate the Lunar New Year with music, dance, martial art, riddles, art exhibition, crafts, and more inside and outside the four-story Renee & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
The opening ceremony was kicked off with speeches from Yulan Chung, John Forsyte, and Arthur Ong, representing the organizers, who welcomed guests to the largest Lantern Festival in Orange County. Our special guests included Congresswoman Katie Porter's representative Tony Capitelli, California State Assemblyman Dave Min, California State Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, Katrina Foley, and the Director of OCAC in Santa Ana, Betty Shiau.
One of the festival's highlights was the premiere of "Monkey King," a musical by Bin He, performed by the South Coast Chinese Orchestra. It was so good that the 1,700 seats in the concert hall were completely filled, with many others watching the live broadcast outside. This original musical is a blend of Chinese and Western music, Beijing Opera, dance, martial arts, animation, and other elements that left the entire audience in awe. Hats off to the fantastic performance and production team!
第八屆橙縣元宵燈節（OC Lantern Festival) 於2023年2月18日盛大舉行，上萬名各族裔男女老少熱烈參與，在四層樓高的Renee & Henry Segerstrom音樂廳內外，以音樂、舞蹈、燈謎、藝術創作、手工藝等活動，體驗歡慶農曆新年的文化盛宴。
南海岸中華文化中心執行長鐘幼蘭、太平洋交響樂團總經理John Forsyte及董事長Arthur Ong代表主辦單位在開幕式中致詞，歡迎來賓加入橙縣規模最大的元宵燈節，透過藝術文化共建多元包容的社區。應邀出席的貴賓包括聯邦眾議員Katie Porter駐地代表Tony Capitelli、加州州議員Dave Min、加州州眾議員Cottie Petrie-Norris、橙縣縣委 Vicente Samiento 、Katrina Foley及橙僑中心主任蕭蓓如等人。
由南海岸中華樂團指揮何彬創作的《美猴王》在開幕式中首演，讓1700個座位的音樂廳出現爆滿盛況，還有不少人在音樂廳外觀看舞台的直播。《美猴王》原創音樂劇結合中西音樂、京劇、舞蹈、武術、動畫等元素，令全場來賓驚艷，也對演出團隊的表現由衷讚佩。
感謝各大媒體的報導
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