Happy New Year! The Asian American Coalition of Chicago will mark the beginning of the Year of the Monkey with the theme “Envision. Enlighten. Empower.”

As millions of people around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year, Chicago will present an elaborate festive dinner celebration at the Hyatt Regency Chicago located at 151 E. Upper Wacker Drive on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. An extravagant Asian-inspired menu, along with an award ceremony to honor community leaders and outstanding youths and a captivating cultural performance of local talent will entertain guests.

Past celebrations have brought together more than 1,000 guests including Asian-American community leaders, dignitaries, elected officials, corporate sponsors and the City’s movers and shakers. The AACC Lunar New Year Gala is the largest event of its kind in the Midwest.

ABC-7 Chicago Linda Yu and Richard Lui of MSNBC will serve as emcees for the evening.

This year, the Chinese-American community is hosting the gala. President and CEO Karen Eng of CSMI is serving as this year’s chairman. Please let me know if you’d like to speak with Karen, I'd be happy to set up an interview. She looks forward to explain the developments of the celebration and why the Lunar New is special to so many.