Without the possibility of an in-person event, the annual Chinese New Year celebration that has been traditionally hosted at Guilford High School is still on, and after seeing the size and scope of the event grow in recent years, a 2021 virtual celebration might actually be larger still.

Sponsored and organized by the Greater New Haven Chinese Community, the celebration this Saturday, Feb. 13—typically the largest and most important family holiday for Chinese people—will include even more pageantry and the opportunity to share sentiment across the world, according to Jing Zhang, one of the organizers.

“Some performers are in mainland China,” Zhang said. “Quite famous singers from China, we’ve managed to get their permission and they actually recorded things for us. So it will be amazing.”

With more than a dozen scheduled performances focused on Chinese style of music, dance, and singing, Zhang said additionally there will be a chance for a sort of photo montage of submitted pictures so families across the world can catch a glimpse of their loved ones, wherever they currently are living.

Almost a year into the pandemic, Zhang said that the close-knit Chinese community very quickly found ways to put together the virtual celebration, with at least three core people and 10 dedicated organizers using their “friend-to-friend” connections to get talented artists signed on and assemble the technical side of the event.

“They are very experienced at organizing these things,” he said with a laugh.

Though he acknowledged that not having the massive celebrations associated with the New Year was difficult, the virtual format does offer this more inclusive opportunity. English subtitles will be provided for Chinese songs or readings to allow those who do not speak the language to follow along, Zhang said, and tuning into Zoom gives people a chance to watch from almost any distance.

About 110 families have already registered as of this week, according to Zhang, with the potential to double that number.

Additionally, plenty of politicians, from State Senator Christine Cohen (D-12) to Connecticut’s junior U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, have provided speeches and remarks, Zhang said, which he described as extremely touching and “beautiful.” This will be Murphy’s first appearance at one of the New Years celebrations, according to Zhang.

Other traditions from the in-person event—namely a raffle and a donation drive for the Guilford Food Bank—have also adapted to the pandemic. Zhang said attendees will be able to register for a raffle of locally sourced prizes based on their digital registration ID, and organizers have already collected around $1,000.

“It’ll all be very wonderful, even if it’s virtual,” Zhang said.

Register for the virtual event at bit.ly/GnhCny and find the Zoom link at /bit.ly/GnhCnyZ.