More than 50 food stalls and exhibits, including several brand new lanterns, and non-stop entertainment from performers who especially flew in from China, were the highlights of Christchurch's 12th Lantern Festival held on the last weekend.
Held in the city for the first time in seven years, the event drew massive crowds keen to see the Otakaro Avon River Precinct – following the river and running from Friendship corner (Durham and Lichfield), past the Bridge of Remembrance to Worcester Street and up into Cathedral Square - lit up by hundreds of lanterns, watch world-class entertainers perform and sample traditional Chinese food.
An estimated 55,000 people attended the two-day event, with the city also busy on Saturday due to the one-day international cricket match between the Black Caps and England at Hagley Oval.
The festival was put together by ChristchurchNZ in partnership with the Christchurch City Council, Bank of China, Novo Advertising, Asia New Zealand Foundation and Christchurch International Airport.
The highlights were several new lanterns, which made their inaugural appearance at this year’s festival. The former director of the culture programme at Asia New Zealand Foundation, Jennifer King, who has assisted ChristchurchNZ with the lantern purchases and in getting Chinese performers along for the event, said, “One that has been commissioned especially for 2018 – which according to the Chinese zodiac is the Year of the Dog – was gifted by Wang Zhijian, the Chinese Consul-General in Christchurch. It is beautiful and features the moon, which symbolises family reunion, a moon gate, a traditional Chinese lady and of course a dog.”
Other new lanterns included a water-based one with frogs and lotus flowers, symbolising purity; a land-based one featuring the dragon dance, traditionally associated with the Chinese New Year; and another depicting a sugar painter, the traditional Chinese art of painting with caramelised sugar.
“Zigong is the traditional capital of Chinese lantern making and there are around 300 factories based there producing lanterns, with Haitian factory being in the top five,” she added.
Notably, there were two lanterns that were new to last year’s show which are particularly significant as regards to NZ-Sino relations, according to ChristchurchNZ General Manager of Attraction Linda Falwasser.
“One really symbolises the start of New Zealand’s relationship with China way back when the gold rush happened in the South Island, featuring two Chinese miners panning for gold. The second is a Chinese family enjoying a meal together; a Chinese New Year tradition that will resonate with any Chinese attending the festival,” she said.
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Culture Galore 2018 Organised by the Christchurch City Council as part of its Summer Times programme, and ably supported by Plains FM - Canterbury’s only community access radio station, and Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood and Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton community boards, the 2018 Culture Galore [an annual free outdoor multicultural festival] held on March 10, at the Ray Blank Park in Ilam, was a feast for all the senses. Featuring music, dance, food and arts and crafts from more than 80 cultures from around the world, the event saw Kapa Haka performances, Mundi African dance, Indian Bharatanatyam dance, Chinese Lion dance, Scottish Country dance, and Japanese Takumi drumming, along with traditional dances and songs from Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Fiji, China, Russia, and Poland. For those wishing to try their hands at various art-forms, there were a huge range of have-a-go activities, such as stone carving, flax weaving, origami, face painting, baseball hitting, bouncy castles, police speed radar, henna tattoos, and story telling. Whereas the most popular section of the Galore was the multi-national cuisine on offer, with more than 50 ethnic foods represented. |
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