中国春节庆祝惠灵顿10年！
Shame on me that I did not realise our Chinese New Year Festival has been with us for TEN years!
At the excellent web site http://www.chinesenewyear.co.nz, I learn that...
In 2005 and 2007, the Chinese New Year Festival organising body, Asian Events Trust (AET), was the proud recipient of Arts and Culture awards. AET was recognised as a voluntary organisation whose event makes the city a better place and strengthened the community.
They are resposible in organising our Chinese New Year celebration program.
"Celebrated worldwide on Thursday 3 February 2011, this is the first day of the Chinese New Year calendar. In Wellington, the Festival runs over two weekends, 5-13 February 2011, with a showcase of colour and vibrancy. So share in the magic, fun, fashion, fireworks and international entertainment – join in and enjoy this free event, because there’s something for everyone."
And I and Le General only went to the last day of the festival, the street parade! Tse, tse, tse ;)
On Sunday, we were at the street parade, it started spot on; 2 pm and 20 minutes later, it was all over! I remember the previous parade was much longer? Or was the WCC traffic control got more efficient?
The double dragon dance, always a crowd puller!
I was trying to shoot video AND photos of the parade, at the same time; not very successful really, unless I grow another pair of arm ;) - Video below.After the parade we proceed to Frank Kitts Park to watch the cultural performance.
It was a sunny and HOT (24C) day, every year the crowd seems to grow and grow! I don't really fancy sitting under the UV laden NZ sun for the next two hour!
To escape from the sun and the crowd we went inside the TSB Arena where the Asian food stalls are. And guess what, the organiser even set up a huge screen to live cast the performance outside! I am surprised that lots of people actually preferred to watch the telecast! Couch Potatoes culture? Hee hee...
The giant screen telecasting the performance on the Frank Kitts Park stage.
Every year the "cultural performances" are, to me; for Asian parents to show case their cute / pretty children ;) Granted, cross culture is good! Just look at their stunning off springs ;)
This year, the Hebei Acrobatic Troupe & Magic Group from China gave the audiences a taste of their performances at Waitangi Park till the 20th.
Pretty faces from the Hebei Troup, "cross culture" not needed :)Worth mentioning was a group of young, all female dancers from good old Wellington!
I am quoting from part of their press release....
"Media release - Emerge Dance Crew
Wellington has produced another world class dance group. Emerge is preparing to take the world by storm as they make history by becoming the first females from Wellington to represent New Zealand at the inaugural, World Hip Hop Dance Competition in Las Vegas – and they are still in school.
The all female dance group Emerge competed at the National Hip Hop Dance Championships in Auckland against a field of finalists heavily dominated by Auckland teams and placed within the top 3 crews [out of 14] to earn the right of representing their country.
Managing their schoolwork and countless hours of rehearsals has seen the group learn about time management, discipline and working together as a team.
The commitment required has undoubtedly been to the level of a professional athlete, but well worth it as Manager Lenny Loh explains: ‘This win is the ultimate achievement for the team so far, it is the accumulation of three years of hard work and aspirations of placing and qualifying for the world competition." - Video below -
Emerge consists of 11 female dancers aged between 15–17yrs from diverse cultural backgrounds of Chinese, Samoan, Maori, Cook Island, Filipino and European.
Looking Back...
My CNY Festival photography started in 2005 - a good year for pictures!
A Wushu and Tai Chi champion in the 1970s and 1980s, she toured with Chinese Wushu teams internationally, including the United States in 1974 when she was part of an elite Chinese Martial Arts Delegation that also included Jet Li (Li Lianjie).
And she live in Wellington!!
CNY Festival 2006 - a great year for pictures!
CNY 2007 was a great year for photos too!!
Some of our best friends, hello to you too!
It was the Year of the Dragon, did you see the Dragon cloud snaking it's way above Mt Vic?
RATS! (rat year) 2008 was not bad either!
Kiki, our close friend and well known Chinese Art teacher; demo the fine point of Chinese brush work.
And in CNY 2009, I was really SLACK!
This was the only shot I took! And that was......
NO BULL!! :)Famous Last Words...
Looking back, did we improve on our CNY Festival? Is it getting smaller and smaller each year? You tell me!
Oh.... we finished our 2011 CNY celebration by having Yusheng , yee sang or yuu sahng 鱼生; pinyin: yúshēng) at R&S Satay Noodle House at 148 Cuba St, Wellington Central (04-385 1496).
Believe you me, their yee sang is THE BEST we ever tasted!
Tips: I bought two big slices of FRESH SALMON to add into the delightful dish :) At NZ$14.00, it is gastronomical heaven! Eat your heart out, friends in Malaysia! Ha ha ha...
Robert, yes; that Kojak guy ;) and his MIL (mother-in-law, duh); finalising the yee sang dish.
Great yee sang, finely diced vegies; unlike the one we had last week, you should NEVER put hot chillies in this delicate dish!
And all together now.... "Lo hei! Lo hei! Lo hei!" (Cantonese for 撈起 or 捞起)... here is to my six million Lotto dream :)
You Might Also Like:
CNY in Auckland (part 1)
CNY in Auckland (part 2)
A CNY Weekend in Wellington
The year of the Rabbit will be a great year!
You Might Also Like:
CNY in Auckland (part 1)
CNY in Auckland (part 2)
A CNY Weekend in Wellington
No comments:
Post a Comment