History of the Chinese Vietnamese New Year Parade (CVNP):

Back in 2001, a woman by the name of Carole Lew had a vision of giving Stockton a reason to celebrate the Chinese and Vietnamese cultures since the Lunar New Year is always on the same day. And that vision became a reality when a parade was born. For seven years, the organization of the non-profit Stockton CVNP (Chinese Vietnamese New Year Parade) has been comprised of volunteers who share a common enthusiasm for this city and its diversity. The streets of Downtown Stockton have been energized with parade groups from the San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento and Bay Area. The numbers of groups and spectators have grown rapidly since 2001, with people returning eagerly to see and be in the parade. Parade participants have gotten very creative in decorating their entry with each year celebrating a different animal, according to the Chinese Zodiac calendar. In the parade alone, the marchers have been close to a thousand people!

In 2010, a new merge was formed between the CVNP and CCSS (Chinese Cultural Society of Stockton), who hosts the Chinese New Year Festival in the Civic Auditorium. When planning for the parade each year, it has been highly suggested by many citizens to put the two large events together on one-day. However, CCSS had contractual arrangements to always have their festival the first weekend in March, so the parade and festival were never able to be on the same day. In addition, the parade needed to be celebrated within 2 weeks of the actual New Year kickoff, or the excitement would have worn off, had it waited until March every year. But with the Civic Auditorium undergoing much needed repairs and not being available in March 2010, it was a no-brainer for the partnership this time! CCSS had to switch venues to the beautifully restored Bob Hope Theater, right at the ending of the parade route. The parade bumped its kickoff time earlier (from 12noon to 10am) so that the rest of the day is left for everyone to take pleasure in at the festival. Now, two events have joined to a single celebration!

All the changes meant a new name change as well. So the exciting birth of CNYC (Chinese New Year Celebration) occurred in mid-2009 and all the members have been working feverishly to bring you the biggest Chinese party this city has ever seen. It started with a vision from Carole Lew and it has blossomed to be an event that all walks of life have come to enjoy today. Her dream, her hard work and her perseverance gave way to a road that many can look forward to for years to come. And for that, we tip our hats off to her.
Thank you, Carole!