T he Chi­nese Spring Fes­ti­val Tem­ple Fair, part of the Chi­nese New Year cel­e­bra­tions, took place on Sat­ur­day at An­chor­age in Ch­aguara­mas.

This is the year of the Drag­on, the fifth of the 12-year cy­cle of an­i­mals that ap­pear in the Chi­nese zo­di­ac. It sym­bol­is­es pow­er, good for­tune and strength and is as­so­ci­at­ed with aus­pi­cious traits like in­tel­li­gence, am­bi­tion and charis­ma.

Cul­tur­al ac­tiv­i­ties to mark the oc­ca­sion in­clud­ed Chi­nese drum­ming, dance and songs. Among the high­lights were the pop­u­lar drag­on and li­on dances per­formed by mem­bers of the Chi­nese Art and Cul­ture So­ci­ety and drag­on boat rac­ing with teams from sec­ondary schools.

Vis­i­tors to the fes­ti­val were al­so able to sam­ple Chi­nese cui­sine and choose from the ar­ray of arts and craft items on sale.