CLEVELAND — With the sound of the drums, you knew there would be a grand entrance for the king of the lunar New Year at the Asian Town Center in downtown Cleveland.
George Kwan, one of the event's organizers, set the mood of celebration, fun and togetherness with a special dance.
"The more we spread our cultures and share each other's cultures the way we are more acceptable."
It's becoming more acceptable if you take inventory of the crowd. But something or someone went wrong in Los Angeles. When a gunman opened fire near that lunar celebrations.
Johnny Wu is with the OCA Advocate Greater Cleveland. Wu at first thought the shooting was a hate crime, "I was very shocked and saddened that this happened in LA. Asian American citizens are getting hurt by people."
But when it was discovered the shooting was committed by an Asian, he was left trying to figure out why.
"It's very unfortunate this is happening on the lunar new year celebration that we are all getting together to gather for the year of the rabbit learning to respect each other."
So far there has been no connection to the shooting or whether it had anything to do with the lunar new year. Wu said any shooting at any time of the year can affect our day to day lives.
"Don't let this incident decide [if] you want to celebrate with everyone together. I am very sure there will be a lot security involved and there will be more security out there to keep everybody safe."