Happy Lunar New Year!

Join us at the Chinese Community Center for the annual Lunar New Year Festival! OCA-Greater Houston has had a booth to support the festival since it’s founding (history tidbit: the Chinese Community Center & OCA-Greater Houston were both founded in the same year, 1979). We will have free fun games, activities, and information on voting! We will also have AAPI autographed books, goody bags & stickers for sale to support our youth leadership work.

📅 Saturday, February 14, 2026
⏰ 10 AM – 4 PM
📍 Chinese Community Center, 9800 Town Park Dr, Houston, TX 77036

Bring the family and come enjoy free cultural performances, games and activities, and try some great food! Have a memorable experience celebrating the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday which lasts for an entire month!

OCA-Greater Houston is partnering with the Houston Public Library to welcome author Monique Truong to read her book, Mai’s Áo Dài. This is your chance to step into the mind of the author as she shares the special traditions her family celebrates during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Enjoy an intimate conversation about her creative journey, inspiration, and storytelling process and get an exclusive sneak peek at her upcoming projects. Whether you’re a long-time fan or just curious about her work, this event is perfect for book lovers of all ages!

Autographed copies of her book will also be available!

Register now:
✅ https://calendar.houstonlibrary.org/event/15868790

📅 Sat, Feb 7, 3-4pm
📍 Alief-David M. Henington Regional Library
(inside the Alief Community Center, 11903 Bellaire Blvd)

Join us for an in-person training to learn how to legally register voters to make voting more accessible for everyone.

Sign up here:
http://ocagreaterhouston.qrd.by/janvdvr

We’re excited to invite you to join us in celebrating Lunar New Year 2026 and welcoming the Year of the Horse!

The Year of the Horse holds special significance in Lunar New Year traditions. The Horse is admired for its strength, energy, and perseverance, and is associated with progress, hard work, and positive momentum—qualities we look forward to embracing together as a community in the year ahead.

Event Details:
Lunar New Year Community Celebration
Where: Walmart Store 2993
Address: 345 Hwy 6, Sugar Land, TX 77478
Store entrance (ample parking available in the store lot)
When: Saturday, January 17, 2026, at 11:00 AM

Guests will enjoy a traditional Lion Dance performance, a tradition believed to bring prosperity, happiness, and good fortune in the year ahead. Commonly performed during Lunar New Year celebrations, the Lion Dance is meant to invite success and positive energy, making it a meaningful way for us to come together and welcome the new year.

To mark the occasion, Walmart will also be gifting limited-edition Year of the Horse pins and lucky red envelopes to customers, associates, and community partners as a symbol of appreciation.

Kindly RSVP by January 14th!

#SparkTheFuture #LunarNewYear

End-of-Year Film Screening & Vision Boarding

You played an important role in our organization this year, and we want to thank you. Come watch a fun movie, hang out with us, and build your vision board for 2026.

All materials will be provided — just bring yourself!

FILM: LUCKY GRANDMA | 88 Minute Screening

In the heart of Chinatown, New York, an ornery, chain-smoking, newly widowed 80-year-old Grandma is eager to live life as an independent woman, despite the worry of her family. When a local fortune teller predicts a most auspicious day in her future, Grandma decides to head to the casino and goes all in, only to land herself on the wrong side of luck... suddenly attracting the attention of some local gangsters. Desperate to protect herself, Grandma employs the services of a bodyguard from a rival gang and soon finds herself right in the middle of a Chinatown gang war. Co-written by Sugar Land native, Angela Cheng.

🚨From exclusion laws to “foreign ownership” bans, bureaucracy has always been a border.

Join OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates for "Paperwork as Power", the second event in its two-part History of Anti-AANHPI Laws and Legal Battles series, and learn how documents, data, and property restrictions from the Geary Act to the Alien Land Laws turned suspicion into control and continue to shape belonging today.

🔗 Register at bit.ly/paperworkaspower
📅 Wednesday, December 3 at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET
🎙️ Featuring: Mae Ngai, Natsu Taylor Saito, and Xiaojian Zhao

This Giving Tuesday, OCA-Greater Houston is taking donations for low-income seniors and families in the Greater Houston area. Rising prices are making it harder for people who already live on tight budgets to meet their basic needs, especially with the holiday season approaching.

With your support, we can provide nutritious food, relief, and hope to those who are struggling with food insecurity. Every dollar makes a real difference in bringing joy to families and seniors across our community.

Help ensure no one in our community goes hungry. 100% of donations will be going directly to support families and seniors struggling with food insecurity. Give today on Giving Tuesday!

🚨Who gets to belong and who decides?

Join OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates for "Citizenship as Architecture", the first event in its two-part History of Anti-AANHPI Laws and Legal Battles series, exploring how laws from the 1790 Naturalization Act to Wong Kim Ark constructed American citizenship through exclusion, loyalty, and race, and how those boundaries still shape belonging today.

🔗 Register at bit.ly/citizenshipasarchitecture
📅 Monday, December 1 at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET
🎙️ Featuring: Robert S. Chang, Aziz Rana, and Hiroshi Motomura

Come join us at AtCha on Tuesday for a low-key evening of creating your own chibi button. It's the perfect mix of creative and chill.

📅 Tuesday, Sep. 16, 6–8:30 PM
📍 AtCha, 9889 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036

Mental Wellness with Iris Chang

Mental wellness starts with the spaces we create—both in our minds and in our relationships. Surround yourself with people who bring peace, not pressure, and remember that healing often begins with feeling truly seen. 💛 Join OCA-Greater Houston for an evening with Iris Chang to explore mental wellness and the power of connection. Scan the QR code or click “Register Here” to sign up and join us!

📅 Wednesday, August 27th, 2025, 6:30 pm CT
📍 Register Here:
ocagreaterhouston.qrd.by/aug27

About Iris Chang

Iris Chang is a first generation Taiwanese-American and came to the US as an adolescent. Iris changed careers from engineering to business, to Counseling and Behavioral Science M.Ed. therapy, and is currently working on her PhD in Clinical Sexology.

She strives to empower all her clients to make healthy, positive changes in their personal and professional lives.

The Texas of today is ever-growing and changing, and it is through speaking up and educating that we remove barriers to ensure every Texan has equal access to the opportunities and services available.

Join us for a full day of action, learning, and solidarity in advocating for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community as we come together to show our collective strength and encourage our representatives to follow the Southern hospitality of the phrase: y’all means all. Come advocate for a better Texas tomorrow with focuses on language access, alien land laws, healthcare and home ownership.

✨ Ready to turn your dreams into reality? ✨

Join us for Manifest 2025, a FREE Vision Board Party to kick off the new year with purpose and creativity! Bring your friends, and let’s craft a roadmap to success together.

Details:

🗓️ Date: February 7th, 2025
⏰ Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
📍 Location: DoubleTree Westchase, 10609 Westpark Dr, Houston, TX 77042

🎨 Supplies are provided – just bring your big dreams and good vibes! (If you want to bring your own stickers, magazines, or supplies, that's fine too!)

RSVP LINK: https://LNYVisionBoardSocial.eventbrite.com

Let’s make 2025 a year to remember. We can’t wait to see you there! 🌟

#Manifest2025 #VisionBoardParty #HoustonEvents #DreamBig #FreeCommunityEvent #htx

• Learn about what the laws are

• What's filed

• How to take action

Register:

http://bit.ly/3WtS11a

Join us at the DoubleTree Houston Westchase for a fun "Pour Painting" event! Pour paint on canvas to create a stunning art piece while enjoying sweets, treats, and boba drinks. Unleash your creativity in a relaxed, tasty atmosphere!