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From KQED News.
For the first time in two years, the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade saw acrobats and small children alike leaping across the city as they celebrated the Year of the Tiger, on Saturday night.
And much like that striped predator from the zodiac calendar, the community roared back with joy and love over the two-year din of rising anti-AAPI hate and pandemic fear.
“I think that being able to start the tiger year with something bold like a parade is really significant,” said Connie Shieh, a parade attendee who was born and raised in the Bay Area.’We’ve masked, we vaccinated, we’ve tested. And I think we’ve demonstrated how to get through a pandemic.’Assemblymember Phil Ting
She brought her 3-year-old daughter alongside her. The event was unusual for her daughter, Shieh said, because she’s spent over half of her life in some kind of quarantine, she said.
“It’s been a while since we’ve come out to things like this, and it’s really, really nice to be able to come out and celebrate,” Shieh added.
Stephanie Kim, a “Miss Asian Global” 2019 pageant winner, said it was awesome to see everyone celebrating their heritage and their culture, after being isolated for so long.
“This year, there’s so much more energy … in the city in general, and I feel like there’s a lot more excitement. Everyone’s just kind of looking forward to doing this [parade],” Kim said.
Lakshmi Sarah 