The South Pasadena Chinese-American Club will hold its 2026 Gala on Saturday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. — the nonprofit’s only major fundraiser of the year and the event that bankrolls its grants to local schools, student scholarships, and cultural programming across the community.
The organization, known as SPCC, has operated in South Pasadena since 1989. Each year, gala proceeds fund more than $15,000 in grants to South Pasadena schools and community groups and support the Dr. Karl J. Hwang Memorial Scholarship, which awards $3,000 each to graduating South Pasadena High School seniors, according to the organization’s website. The scholarship honors Dr. Hwang, a biophysical chemist who co-founded SPCC and served as its president.
The evening will feature dinner, a silent auction, entertainment, and dancing with DJ Jon Primuth, a South Pasadena City Councilmember, according to the SPCC event listing. Tickets are $120 per person.
SPCC distributes its grant money to a range of programs. In November 2025, the club awarded grants to the South Pasadena Public Library, the Senior Citizens Foundation of South Pasadena, the Marengo Dual Immersion Program, school athletic and music boosters, and more than a dozen other programs, according to the SPCC website.
“The annual SPCC Banquet Gala is my favorite SPCC event of the year,” Yuki Cutcheon, SPCC president, said in a statement after the 2024 gala. “It brings together the community of South Pasadena in all its beautiful diversity and in the full spirit of togetherness, service, and love for our wonderful city and school district.”
The gala is a fixture in South Pasadena’s civic calendar. The 2024 edition drew more than 300 guests and raised approximately $22,000, according to The South Pasadenan. The 2022 gala — the first held after the pandemic — raised approximately $30,000 from more than 250 attendees, according to SPCC. Past galas have drawn South Pasadena elected officials, school district administrators, and local business leaders.
Beyond the gala, SPCC runs cultural and educational programs year-round. In March 2025, the club partnered with South Pasadena High School to send 68 students on an educational exchange trip to Jiangsu Province, China — part of the club’s Dragon Tour program, which has run for more than 30 years, according to the organization. The club also co-hosts an annual AAPI Heritage Month Celebration with the City of South Pasadena.
SPCC has received the South Pasadena Image Award, given to organizations that promote a positive image of the city, and the South Pasadena Rotary’s Service Above Self Award, according to the organization’s website.
Tickets and information for the 2026 Gala are available at https://www.spcc-web.org/spcc-gala-4/ or by emailing SPCC91030@gmail.com.
“We do all these things because we live in this community and want to contribute to its well-being,” Cutcheon said in a statement on the SPCC website.
South Pasadena Chinese-American Club Banquet Gala. Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. Cost: $120.00. For more information click here: https://www.spcc-web.org/spcc-gala-4/
