JACKSONVILLE — The Chamber of Commerce has canceled next month’s Chinese New Year celebrations, citing lack of funding, dwindling volunteer efforts and disinterest in the town’s Chinese heritage.

"It was costing us more to put it on than it was bringing in," said Linda Graham, Chamber of Commerce board member. "Besides, it’s not a part of our culture or anything that’s going on in this area any more. We don’t have enough Oriental people to do the work and provide the money."

This would have been the fifth year for the Chinese-inspired festivities, which included a parade led by the traditional Chinese lion dance. Other activities included art demonstrations, games, crafts, exhibits, music and food.

Jeresa Hren, born and raised in Taiwan, moved to Jacksonville six years ago and has invested time and money in the celebration since its inception.

"I brought in 23 of my friends from the Bay Area. We put on a fashion show, did displays, provided programming," said Hren. "I was personally out over $1,000. But it benefited the community as a whole."

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Hren said she understands the celebration was "a whole lot of work." She also said she is working full time now and is no longer able to commit the amount of time she had in the past. But she said she had notified chamber members she would still help with the event.

Hren said businesses may be suffering revenue losses due to last summer’s highway reconstruction and unable to raise the money for the celebration. But canceling the event is "a shame," Hren said.

She disagreed with Graham’s statement that Chinese culture is no longer relevant to Jacksonville.

"To me, the Chinese people started the whole town of Jacksonville," said Hren.

Steve Wyatt, Southern Oregon Historical Society curator of collections, said the Chinese are "very relevant to Jacksonville history." However, Wyatt said, the Chinese were often the subjects of intense, open discrimination and were eventually driven out of the state.

"(The Chinese) had a definite presence in Jacksonville. In the era’s cultural melting pot, the Chinese were the biggest minority in the early gold rush days," said Wyatt. "But it’s kind of hard for people to grasp abstract concepts because they’re gone now. There’s no physical presence."

U.S. Census figures for 2000 show Asians account for less than 1 percent of Jackson County’s population.

Jacksonville restaurant owner Jeff Levin, who helped start the celebration four years ago, said the chamber’s decision to discontinue it is shortsighted. He believes lack of interest and proper leadership are to blame, not lack of funding.

Levin said he ran it successfully for the first two years before handing it over to the chamber. He raised $8,500 from merchants the first year and $7,000 the second year, he said. Levin said he used the money to bring in crowd-drawing cultural acts from outside the area such as the Beijing Opera.

"The third year they (the chamber) took it away from us — and gave it up," said Levin. "The Chinese New Year is a developed cash cow. Why let it go?"

Medford resident Beth Kinney said she called the chamber in anticipation of taking her son to the celebration.

"They told me it was canceled because no one would do the lion dance," said Kinney.

Chamber member Sandi Torrey said last year members of a karate school donned the long lion costume with the horned head and mouth that opens and closes. But they declined to participate this year. Torrey said the costume requires a minimum of two strong people to operate.

Torrey said the only people the chamber could find to wear the costume were from Brookings and wanted $600 to participate.

"We can’t have a Chinese New Year without the lion," she said.

Levin said it would not be a problem to come up with that amount of money. Levin said the event is a money-maker for local businesses, if not for the chamber.

"I said I’d get the money," said Levin. "If the chamber doesn’t make money, that’s too bad. If they have to spend money to make money for local businesses, that’s their function. That’s why we pay dues."

Torrey said the decision to pull the plug on the celebration was helped by SOHS declining to participate.

SOHS Director John Enders said that while budget and staffing cuts had required the society to scale back its participation, it still offered to put on a display of Chinese artifacts. Each of the three major exhibits in Jacksonville also has Chinese elements.

City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen said he appreciates the chamber’s constraints of time and money, but "we’re sorry to see that it wasn’t kept active this year."

Graham said the demise of the Chinese New Year celebration is "not necessarily a negative thing."

"The chamber doesn’t have money to import extravagant shows from San Francisco or Seattle," she said. "When it becomes like a noose around your neck, a burden instead of a fun concept, it’s time to let it go."

Other celebrations have come and gone only to make way for new ones, she said. Graham cited the Vintage Celebration — a food and wine festival formerly held at the Britt Gardens — which was pulled from the chamber calendar.

"We killed that a few years ago," said Graham. "We’re going to step up with something new."

Graham said the town will put on its first Fritillary Festival — in honor of the rare Jacksonville flower — this spring.

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.