There will be no sleeping for this Lion, only a lot of dancing at the Nathan Yip Foundation Chinese New Year celebration on Saturday, February 10 at the Cable Center at the University of Denver. For the fourth year, Linda and Jimmy Yip, parents of the late Nathan Yip, are hosting a gala dinner with live and silent auctions to benefit the foundation they created in his name to fulfill his dream of helping children around the world. The Foundation has raised over $400,000 to support seven schools in poverty-stricken areas of China, Mexico and Africa with construction, school supplies and teachers' salaries.

At Saturday's gala, Lion Dancers from the Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu School of Boulder chase away evil spirits and bring good luck to households or businesses they visit. The dramatic climax of the Lion Dance is the Choi Cheng or Picking the Green. Lettuce is usually hung above the door along with a red envelope containing money. The lion eats both the leaves and red envelope, then spits them out, a symbolic act of blessing signifying that there will be an abundance of everything in the coming year. In a unique multicultural twist, the menu by Three Tomatoes will feature a fusion of Mexican and Asian cuisine and Mariachi Vasquez will entertain in a tribute to the Foundation's projects in Mexico.

Although the gala is sold out, it is still possible to make a donation or sponsor a child at one of the schools in China by visiting the Nathan Yip Foundation website.