Stamp of Pekingese Marks Chinese Year of the Dog

Move over, Elvis. Now it’s the Pekingese’s turn on a U.S. postage stamp.

A stylized drawing of the longhaired “royal dog of China” will be dedicated as a postal stamp Saturday in Pomona as the San Gabriel Valley kicks off the year 4692 in the Chinese lunar calendar--the Year of the Dog--with early celebrations.

Chinese New Year falls on Feb. 10, but the celebrations begin this weekend and will continue all month. Although parade times are staggered to avoid competition among events, celebrants will have to make some choices this weekend.

In Monterey Park, where more than a third of the residents are of Chinese descent, the two-day 1994 Chinese New Year Flower Market Festival begins at 10 a.m. Saturday on Garvey Avenue between Garfield and Ramona avenues.

The free street festival, sponsored by the Monterey Park Downtown Merchants Assn., features continuous entertainment on two stages, carnival rides, and 100 booths with everything from food to traditional narcissus-bulb carving demonstrations by two men from Quanzhou, China, Monterey Park’s recently adopted sister city.

“They are artists back in China--experts,” said association President Margaret To.

This is the third year that the association has sponsored the festival, which drew about 10,000 visitors last year, To said.

Saturday’s events also include a karaoke contest at 11:30 a.m., and a beauty pageant for Miss Asian Pacific International at 1:30 p.m. Contestants and sponsors are still welcome and should call (818) 308-2121 for more information.

The winner will travel to China to promote unity among Asian Americans in the United States and abroad, according to event sponsors.

Sunday features the Chinese New Year International Parade from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., with dragon and lion dances and more. The parade will begin on Garfield Avenue, proceed along Garvey Avenue to Alhambra Avenue, and then double back to the starting point.

On the other side of the valley, at the Pomona Fairplex, the 7th annual Chinese American Expo ’93 drew 50,000 visitors last year despite heavy rain. This year, 100,000 are expected.

The expo, sponsored by the Chinese Overseas Marketing Service, costs $6 for adults and $3 for children and will run both days from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in exhibition hall No. 4. It features 300 booths, many of them trade booths reserved by companies ranging from local Chinese American businesses to major corporations such as AT & T, spokesman Vincent Wu said.

Entertainment on three major stages will include dragon dances, a Chinese costume dance, a traditional drama troupe, Peking opera, martial arts, a flower show, a dog show, and dough doll sculpture.

And at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Joseph R. Caraveo, chief operating officer of the U.S. Postal Service, will dedicate the Chinese Happy New Year Stamp, featuring the Pekingese.

The San Gabriel Valley Chinese Cultural Assn. has its own festivities planned. At a Saturday potluck luncheon to celebrate the new year, students from the association’s Chinese Language School will perform lion and dragon dances, sing and demonstrate martial arts.

The school will also be registering new students Saturday for classes taught in Mandarin and Cantonese. For more information, call Hoover Ng, at 818-961-5191.

Celebrations will continue on the weekend of the Feb. 12 and 13 with a Chinese New Year parade and festival in Alhambra. The Los Angeles Chinatown parade will be held Feb. 19.