Start the Year of the Dragon with a roar at the 2012 Lantern Festivals
Spectacular twin taniwha and dragon lanterns and China’s best reggae band will help welcome in the Year of the Dragon at the 2012 Auckland and Christchurch Lantern Festivals.
Hundreds of vibrantly coloured lanterns will light up Albert Park at Auckland’s 13th Lantern Festival from Friday, February 3 to Sunday, February 5, 2012. The celebrations then head to Christchurch on Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12, at Carlton Corner, Hagley Park North. The February 22, 2011 earthquake meant the scheduled festival was unable to be held in the city this year.
Families are invited to enjoy picnics on the grass, sampling delicious treats from Asian food stalls while enjoying local and international performers. Both festivals feature traditional and contemporary performers from China, including Beijing-based Long Shen Dao (way of the dragon spirit), considered China’s best reggae band. Other performers include the Shanghai Dragon and Lion Dance Group and the Taizhou Luantan Troupe from Zhejiang province, which will perform a Southern Chinese opera style mingled with acrobatics.
Each year’s festivals feature spectacular new lanterns created for New Zealand and made in Zigong, in the Chinese province of Sichuan. The 2012 display will include a special pair symbolising the connections between China and New Zealand, commissioned by China’s Ministry of Culture to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The taniwha lantern is designed by multimedia artist Darryl Thompson (also known as DLT, DJ and music producer). Its companion dragon lantern was designed by Shanghai-born Aucklander Dennis Juan Ma, a graphic designer.
The Auckland Lantern Festival has now completed a full cycle of the Chinese zodiac, returning to the Year of Dragon in 2012 – the same zodiac year as the first festival in 2000. Christchurch’s first festival was held in 2005. The dragon is considered the most auspicious animal in the Chinese Zodiac. People born in dragon years – 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988 and 2000 – are said to be charismatic, ambitious and willing to take risks.
The Lantern Festival is traditionally held on the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. New Zealand’s lantern festivals are brought to you by the Asia New Zealand Foundation (Asia:NZ) in partnership with city councils, core sponsor HSBC and others. Asia:NZ is a non-profit, non-political organisation dedicated to building New Zealand’s links with Asia.
For more information, contact:
Rebecca Palmer
Asia New Zealand Media Adviser
Telephone: 64 4 470 8701
Mobile: 027 226-8707
Email: rpalmer@asianz.org.nz