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Visitors to the Lunar New Year Lantern Carnival organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) at Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza tonight (February 17) were treated with spectacular lantern displays, boisterous entertainment and colourful shows.
The venue was decorated with appealing pink light installations and floral shaped wheels of fortune to give the ambiance of a blossom garden. Highlights included spectacular acrobatics and Chinese ethnic dances by the Fujian Province Arts Troupe, supported by the Office for Cultural Affairs with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Regions, Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China. Other programmes included golden oldies, Cantonese opera performance, Chinese instrumental performance, fortune-telling, lantern quiz, wish-making corner, henna tattoo fun stalls and roving entertainment.
Organised by Hong Kong Heritage Museum, an exhibition on "Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage: Lantern-lightening Ritual" was held in the foyer, adding colour to the carnival.
Meanwhile, the festive lantern installations "Rejoice! Happy New Year!" at the piazza became popular spots for photo-taking. This exhibition features the customs of various Asian countries in celebrating the New Year, including China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Exhibits include colourful Chinese "lion dance" lanterns accompanied by a big drum; lanterns featuring a tug of war with elephants in Thailand; "Hagoita" (a traditional Japanese game similar to badminton) and Koreans in traditional costumes. There are also floating lotus lanterns on the piazza pools and LED lights inside lanterns on the boats producing candlelight effect. The display runs until March 6.
The LCSD will hold two more lantern carnivals at Tuen Mun Park tomorrow (February 18) and at Fanling Recreation Ground on February 19 respectively. Festive lanterns will also be on display at these two venues from today until February 20. Details of the lantern carnivals are as follows:
1. New Territories West Lunar New Year Lantern Carnival
Date and time: February 18 (Friday),
7.30pm-10.30pm
Venue: Tuen Mun Park
Programmes: Spectacular acrobatics, Chinese
dances, choral performance, Chinese
instrumental performance, golden
oldies, fun painting, chess playing
corner, outdoor film show, wish-making
corner, lantern quiz, roving
entertainment and lantern
installations
2. New Territories East Lunar New Year Lantern Carnival
Date and time: February 19 (Saturday),
7.30pm-10.30pm
Venue: Fanling Recreation Ground
Programmes: Spectacular acrobatics, Chinese
dances, lion dance, golden oldies,
guzheng performance, Cantonese opera
excerpts, fortune-telling, lantern
quiz, wish-making corner, roving
entertainment and lantern
installations
Ends/Thursday, February 17, 2011
Issued at HKT 21:00
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