Since the Chinese Benevolent Association-sponsored inaugural Stockton Chinese New Year Parade two years ago, the Chinese Cultural Society has been an active participant in the festive celebration of the event. Fortified by coffee against the cold and the promise of a hot pizza lunch, board members gather in the garage of the Ikeda home to decorate Ikeda's 1970 El Camino in a manner which reflects the zodiac animal of the year. With Loreen Huey as the decorating guru, they cut, paste, cut again, tape, and somehow manage to approximate the appearance of a Chinese dragon (2003) and monkey surroundings (2004). To make it all come together, Val Acoba's students from the Edison High School drama department don festive costumes appropriate to the year and ride in the back of the pick-up. Beating on drums and waving to bystanders, they help bring Chinese New Year joy to the crowd.