Lunar New Year with Community Celebrations

Pine Court Housing Association celebrated the start of the Lunar New Year with customers, colleagues, partners and friends on 18 February 2026, with events both in the community and at the Head Office of parent company The Sovini Group.

Established in 1986, Pine Court is a registered provider of social housing with a long-standing commitment to providing quality homes and inclusive services, supporting a vision of creating a better future. Today, it continues its mission of creating opportunities and changing lives, positively promoting cultural tolerance and cohesion across its diverse communities, which are made up of 58% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic customers. With a dedicated team including multilingual Housing Assistants, Pine Court actively contributes to regeneration across the Liverpool City Region and the celebration of Chinese culture.

On Wednesday 18 February, Pine Court held its popular Chinese New Year celebration for customers at Liverpool’s Pagoda Arts Centre, which was extremely well-attended, complete with Chinese dragons and kung fu demonstrations by local school Liverpool Hung Gar Kung Fu Club, singing and dancing from members of the Pagoda Arts Chinese Dance Troupe, and music provided by the Pagoda Youth Orchestra. Attendees then enjoyed a wonderful lunch provided by a local restaurant. The raffle was particularly popular, with prizes provided by local restaurants, while the Pagoda Arts Centre also donated a shopping voucher.

As well as customers, the event was attended by the Chair of Pine Court’s Board, Steve Gow, representatives from both Merseyside Police and Chinese Wellbeing, and officers from Liverpool City Council's City Centre Neighbourhood Team.

Shaun Williams, Housing Manager at Pine Court, said: “It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate The Year of the Fire Horse not just with our community but also within our community. Such celebrations bring everyone together, which is so important - our customers are at the heart of everything we do as we strive to create thriving, inclusive diverse communities, and celebrating the Lunar New Year is just one example of how we work to do this."

Colleagues also enjoyed a Chinese New Year celebration at parent company The Sovini Group’s head office on Thursday 19 February, with dancing dragons and young kung fu experts from Wirral-based China Spirit demonstrating their skills. After another splendid Chinese buffet lunch, Pine Court Housing Assistant Tracy Lin demonstrated the beautiful art of Chinese calligraphy. Thursday evening saw more celebrations at Chung Hok House, Pine Court’s retirement housing scheme, with customers, colleagues and partners coming together to mark the start of the Lunar New Year.

With its symbolism of freedom, enthusiasm and a strong drive for progress, let’s hope that the Year of the Fire Horse brings positivity and achievement for all at Pine Court Housing Association and The Sovini Group!