2026-02-28 Students Paint Lanterns Displayed in the Community; Fortune Cookie Dharma Words Send Hope: Cultural Connections Bridging Campus and Community

On February 28, the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA), in partnership with the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) Miami Chapter and several community organizations, hosted the 2026 Year of the Horse Lunar New Year Lantern Festival at the City Zen Garden. This event was not only a festive celebration, but also a meaningful cultural journey extending from classroom campuses into the local community.

Earlier in the month, the Miami Chapter visited U.B. Kinsey / Palmview Elementary School of the Arts to hold the "Painting Lanterns to Welcome the Year of the Horse" activity. Eighty fourth-grade students painted their visions of the New Year with innocent creativity, each lantern carrying vivid colors and warm blessings. On the day of the festival, these student-created lanterns were hung high among the treetops of the Zen Garden, swaying gently in the spring breeze. The children's artwork stepped beyond classroom walls and seamlessly integrated into public urban space, attracting over a thousand residents who paused to admire them. The students' creations were no longer just class assignments, but a shared cultural landscape for the entire community.

At the festival, the BLIA Miami Chapter set up diverse cultural experience booths featuring rubbings of Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s One-Stroke Calligraphy, DIY Year of the Horse paper lanterns, Lunar New Year multi-layered stamp art, and the distribution of red envelopes along with spring calligraphy blessings. Streams of visitors created long, enthusiastic lines throughout the day.

The most distinctive feature was the custom-made fortune cookies containing English and Chinese "Dharma Words" selected from Venerable Master Hsing Yun’s 108 Advice for Life. As local residents enjoyed the treat, they received blessings rooted in Buddhist wisdom—a world apart from typical restaurant fortune cookies. Many parents brought their children to participate, learning about Chinese culture together through interactive activities and creating warm family learning moments.

Notably, Jeanne Bootz Brown, a teacher from U.B. Kinsey / Palmview Elementary School of the Arts, made a special trip to attend the event. She shared that many students came with their families to admire their own handiwork, expressing deep gratitude to the Miami Chapter for giving students the opportunity to participate in community affairs and experience multicultural exchange firsthand in a public space.

Sherryl Muriente, Public Realm Director for the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority, came over to share her joy with Venerable Ju Yuan while holding her fortune cookie message, which read: "The future will definitely be better than now, so work extra hard (未來一定比現在更好，應該要加倍努力)." She remarked, "I really like my fortune cookies, we all want a better tomorrow." That simple blessing voiced a shared aspiration felt across the entire community.

Yanhua Deng, President of the BLIA Miami Chapter, thanked the volunteers for their selfless dedication and reaffirmed that the chapter will continue upholding the mission of "propagating the Dharma through culture." By rooting Humanistic Buddhism locally—starting from campuses and stepping into the community—they aim to let these values blossom and bear fruit in the daily life of the city.