ORGANISERS fear they have celebrated one of the biggest events in the Oxford Chinese community's calendar for the final time.

The explosion of colour, traditional folk music and dance was attended by more than 1,000 people yesterday to mark the start of the Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival.

Hundreds of families tucked into a grand spread packed with Chinese treats before performers stole the spotlight to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Dog.

Put on by Oxfordshire Chinese Community & Advice Centre (OCCAC), the event has taken place in Oxford Town Hall for 27 years.

But the centre, which is based at Princes Street in East Oxford, could close on July 31 if around £30,000 is not found to keep its language and day care services going.

OOAC fundraising committee chair Dr Tiancun Xiao, in an impassioned speech to guests at Sunday's event, called on them to donate and revealed he had put £1,000 personally towards the cause.

He said: "I am unsure if we can continue to celebrate the next Chinese New Year like this one because the funding provided by the city council is gone and the Chinese centre is struggling to maintain itself."

He added: "The relationship between the UK and China is in a golden era so why is it a Chinese centre in a great city like Oxford cannot survive?"

Oxford City Council stopped funding the advice centre in 2011, but have since provided some cash for initiatives run by the centre.

The county council followed suit in April 2016 by slashing £24,676 from its budget. A further £18,800 for daytime support was also removed from its budget in August, though transitional funding was available.

East Oxford MP Anneliese Dodds, who attended the town hall event with her family, said: "They are trying very hard to get as much support from the community as they can. They do a lot of incredible work, particularly for older people but other parts of the Chinese community as well so I hope it will be possible for the centre to keep going.

"The cuts have come from the city and the county but ultimately it is good value what they provide."

On the event itself, she said: "It's a real fixture in the Oxford calendar and has been for many years. There's always lots of people and it is great to see so much support within the community but I think they need that financial support and from volunteers are well."

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