Red Bluff readies for revived Chinese New Year celebration
by Sam Chimenti
TEHAMA COUNTY, Calif. — For the first time in over 80 years, a Red Bluff foundation is organizing a special Chinese New Year’s event this coming Saturday, Jan. 28.
The Chew family has been in Tehama County since 1865. One of the three remaining Chews in Red Bluff, Jessica Chew, launched the “Helen and Joe Chew Foundation” in 2021 in honor of her grandparents.
Jessica founder of the "Helen and Joe Chew Foundation" and the last remaining female descendant of the Chew's (KRCR)
The foundation’s goal is to educate and inspire the general public on Chinese-American history and to encourage higher education in rural communities.
Tehama County has a rich Chinese-American history and Saturday’s event will work to revive those long-standing roots.
Private Collection of the Helen and Joe Chew Foundation
A family portrait of the Chews, circa 1930s (KRCR)
"During the Gold Rush, after Chinese arrived in America, there used to be an annual Chinese New Year with a parade and a celebration with lion-dancers, and, in some cases, dragons," explained Jessica Chew. "And Red Bluff's historic Chinatown...used to have this event every single year. And so, the lion-dancers haven't been in Red Bluff for over 100 years so it's an extremely special thing to do. And then, to revive the history in this way is just incredible. Such an honor."
One of the two remaining commercial structures from Red Bluff’s Chinatown was where Jessica's grandfather, Joe Chew, was born, at the corner of Walnut Street and Rio Street, highlighting just how long the family has been in the county.
The building where Joe Chew was born. Now a boutique on the bottom floor, it was once the first commerical structure commissioned by the Chinese in Tehama County (KRCR)
Saturday’s belated Chinese New Year celebration will begin at 8 a.m, in the newly-minted "Chinatown Alley" off Walnut Street and near Main Street in Red Buff. The event is for all ages and Chew says she hopes to make it a yearly occurrence.
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