Milwaukee Chinese community kicks off 2015, year of the sheep

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- The Milwaukee Chinese community is kicking off their new year a little early, with a weekend dedicated to celebrating their culture.

Like every Chinese celebration, this one kicked off with the beat of the drum and dancing of the dragon.

"This kind of team work, everyone should work as a team so it can be successful," said Yi Wan, President of Milwaukee Chinese Community Center.

Saturday, they are celebrating the Chinese New Year. It officially lands on February 19th, but they're celebrating early.

"We always hold the event in the end of January which is in the Pro Bowl week because we worry about if Packers go to the final," said Wan.

This family friendly event offers a wide range of activities including traditional Chinese art origami.

"They they put on the windows and that's like they bring happiness to the family," said Wan.

There is also traditional food, folks music and fancy foot work. One group of students were from the Milwaukee School of Languages.

"This is a very good opportunity to let students get into the real language environment to use their language, use their Chinese words they learned," said Jia Liu, teacher at Milwaukee School of Languages.

This is the year of the sheep and according to tradition, that means 2015 will be a very calm year.

"Good year, yes, yes, it's always a very peaceful year," said Wan.

You can attend the Chinese New Year celebration on Sunday, January 25th, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.