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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 5, 2006 The front half of a lion dragon known as Nian in Chinese culture delights and gives brief fright to parade- goers at Jacksonville�s Chinese New Year parade Saturday. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven It couldn’t rain on this parade Jacksonville turns out to celebrate return of Chinese heritage festivities By GREG STILES Mail Tribune It’s the Year of the Dog and there were plenty of canines on hand Saturday in Jacksonville to usher in the Chinese New Year. More than 2,000 celebrants, many with their own dogs, braved soggy weather to mark lunar year 4703 in a town whose population once numbered scores of Chinese immigrants. Former Hong Kong resident Scott Cummings, who now lives in Medford, wore Chinese garb to the event, as did his daughters, Leah and Michelle. "Gung Hei Fat Choi," Cummings said before offering a reporter a translation for "Happy New Year." "It’s actually a tad late to be celebrating. The real Chinese New Year was last weekend." Jan. 29 was New Year’s Day on the Chinese calendar, when the parades are held, but the celebration lasts for 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival on the first full moon of the New Year. Advertisement But Cummings enjoyed the celebration regardless, happy that it had returned after the town passed on the Year of the Rooster last year. "We get to celebrate New Years twice this way," said Cummings, who formerly lived in the town of Yueng Shui Wan on Lamma Island near Hong Kong. "This is a great thing, but I don’t think it’s going to measure up to the celebration in Hong Kong." The half-hour parade featured stylized lions, dragons and pandas along with a sedan chair crew, a rickshaw, drummers, fan dancers, llamas and the Southern Oregon Bagpipe Band. "I was happy to see it come back because of the Chinese ethnic heritage we have here," said Tom Dube of Jacksonville, who had Robby a Rottweiler/shepherd mix in tow. Bill Mackey of Rogue River admitted just about any excuse was good enough for him to skip over to Jacksonville. "I was surprised by the turnout with it raining as hard as it was," Mackey said. "This is definitely important to this community. This is a town that lives and dies on tourism, pretty much. You come here in the summer and you can’t move there are so many people. But without things like this, it dies in the winter. They’re smart people here, doing this and the Victorian Christmas." Marilyn Hawkins and Vicki Greisinger, accompanied by Molly, a golden retriever, visited a Chinese cultural display at Schneider Art Museum in Ashland on Friday in preparation for the parade. "I lived in Seattle before moving down here," Hawkins said. "I felt like I needed a little ethnic diversity." Jacksonville resident Bob Kaczor, who attended the city’s first Chinese New Year celebration, said he was glad to see the parade revived. "I think this is a great thing for Jacksonville," Kaczor said. "It’s a natural for the middle of the winter." While the event naturally attracted interest from people either from or with Asian roots, it also drew visitors from the East Coast. Vickie Felton who is in the Rogue Valley visiting her daughter, said Saturday’s event was a change of pace from the Veteran’s Day and Christmas parades she views back home in Newcastle, Pa. "It’s totally different," said Felton. "People sure love their dogs here." Craig Moore of Central Point brought his family to the parade after seeing an television ad. "This is stuff we’re not very familiar with," Moore said as a panda and alligator-looking dragon passed by, tossing candy. "It doesn’t matter what you wear as long as you throw candy to the kids," Moore said. "It’s all good." Once the parade passed down California Street, the dogs seemed less restrained. Grizzly Bear, a black lab belonging to Margaret LaPlante of Medford, had no trouble ignoring the scary-looking participants. "He liked the dragons the best," said LaPlante, as her dog exchanged barks with another retriever. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail It couldn�t rain on this parade ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Computer Security Discount Hotel Reservations Casinos Canada dvd-r Generic Viagra Myspace Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Student Loans Sudoku Online Advertisement s Advertisement