Sydney festival to entertain Asian communities as Lunar New Year arrives

Vietnamese people will join other Asian-origin communities at the 16-day Sydney Lunar Festival in the Australian city to mark the coming Lunar New Year.

The event with more than 80 special festive programmes will last from January 21 to February 5, aiming to inspire people’s enthusiasm, fuel business activities, and highlight the cultural diversity of Sydney.

From an annual event first held by Asian communities 27 years ago, the Sydney Lunar Festival has become a large event every year by the city and also established itself as the biggest Lunar New Year celebration outside Asia.

This year’s festival will feature a wide range of activities, including street food fairs, music and light shows, lion dancing, dragon boat racing, art displays, and a lantern festival, expected to draw thousands of visitors.

The centre of these activities will be the Haymarket precinct with Dixon, Hay, Sussex, and Harbor streets. Lunar New Year-inspired gates with traditional architectural styles of Vietnam, China, and the Republic of Korea will also be set up at the entrances to the streets.

A highlight of the festival will be a spectacular show at the Sydney Town Hall on February 4 where performers from Chinese, Korea, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Mongolian, and Indonesian communities will share their cultures through dances, music, and stories./.

VNA