Naperville's Xilin's Lantern Festival shines light on best of Chinese performing arts

When the Xilin Lantern Festival started 12 years ago, everyone knew the performers were students, Chinese school kids studying their ancestral language at a cultural association in Naperville.

The youths put on a good show, but no one was wondering — as spectators do now — “are those professionals?” says June Yang, director of the Xilin Association's community center in Naperville.

Now, as the Xilin Association prepares for its 13th annual Lantern Festival on Saturday, April 28, the aim is to impress.

“Every year we make sure it's spectacular,” Yang said.

Local performers will put on dance, music and acrobatic acts, adorned in colorful cultural costumes and accompanied by dramatic stage lighting. Performers from across the country, and from China, will put on professional shows of stringed instruments, opera and magic, while ABC 7 Chicago's Judy Hsu will be on hand to greet guests as an honorary chairwoman.

Before the Lantern Festival show begins at 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Yellow Box Community Christian Church, 1635 Emerson Lane, Naperville, the Xilin Association will host a free games and activities fair from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Both the fair and the stage show aim to spotlight the traditional art forms that make up Chinese culture, including song, dance, Kung Fu and folk arts.

“We try to bring the more authentic Chinese performing arts to an American audience,” Yang said. “To us, it's every day. But to other cultures, it's something new.”

Headlining performers this year include Vanessa Liao, a soprano singer; Tao Tong, a tenor vocalist; Kemei Jiang, a stringed-instrument musician; and Ning Li, a magician, with his assistant Lei Sun.

The Lantern Festival originated as a celebration of Chinese New Year. But Yang said it has been moved to the spring because of poor weather and difficulty finding a venue around the new year, which typically falls a month or so into the American calendar.

Now it is an annual celebration of the Xilin Association, which opened in Naperville in late 2002 and also has community centers in Arlington Heights, Elgin and two Chicago neighborhoods.

The association focuses its services on youth education in Chinese language, performing arts, community health and senior services. Its Naperville community center plans to move later this year from one suite within Iroquois Center at 1163 E. Ogden Ave. to another roughly double the size.