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The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) tonight (September 19) held the lantern carnival at Victoria Park, featuring a series of entertainment and spectacular lantern displays to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Decorated with dazzling lanterns, Victoria Park was filled with festive joy. Several spectacular lantern displays became hot spots for photo-taking, such as the "Lantern Wonderland" organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the traditional mechanical puppet stage lanterns depicting the 1960s and '70s by local masters, reconstructing an old-style mooncake shop in a bamboo shed with an exquisitely decorated entrance. Other lanterns including two Hong Kong-designed and Taiwan-crafted giant lantern sculptures of the God of Fortune, as well as the thematic lantern installation "Savor the Flavor of Hong Kong", were equally attractive. The above lanterns will continue to be on display until September 22 and will be lit up from 6.30pm to 11pm.
Members of the public also enjoyed the carnival's various festive programmes. The highlights were the folk song, dance, instrumental and acrobatic performances by the Sichuan Arts Troupe, as well as demonstrations of Sichuan folk craft such as sugar painting and Qiang embroidery by craft masters. In addition, demonstrations of decorative porcelain art and Chaozhou wheat straw patchwork by Guangdong masters were also featured.
Interactive sessions offered by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra were also well received. The sessions involved the four main categories of Chinese musical instruments - wind, plucked string, bowed string and percussion - and included pipa, suona, dizi and percussion performances and the "Synergy 24 Drumming Routines". The orchestra, which has won the Ministry of Culture Innovation Award, also displayed instruments it developed, namely the Eco-gaohu, the Eco-erhu, the Eco-zhonghu, the Eco-Gehu and the Eco-Bass Gehu. Other entertaining programmes such as a fire dragon dancing parade, a Chinese instrumental and percussion performance, a harmonica performance, dances and a lantern quiz also attracted visitors.
The LCSD will also hold lantern carnivals at Sha Tin Park and Tuen Mun Park on September 20 and 21 respectively, with details as follows:
1. New Territories East Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival
September 20 (Friday), 7.30pm to 10.30pm
Sha Tin Park
Programme: Spectacular Chinese ethnic dance and
songs, acrobatics, Chinese orchestral and Gu Zheng
music, traditional stage art and wushu
performance, demonstration of Chinese folk
crafts, lantern quiz, fun workshops, wish-making
corner and lantern installations
2. New Territories West Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival
September 21 (Saturday), 7.30pm to 10.30pm
Tuen Mun Park
Programme: Spectacular Chinese ethnic dance and
songs, acrobatics, youth performances, golden
melodies, Cantonese opera, demonstration of
Chinese folk crafts, fortune-telling and lantern
installations
Another lantern display, entitled "Home Sweet Home", is being held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza until October 13. The display consists of six interesting sets of lanterns to showcase family fun and harmony.
People are urged not to litter or burn wax while celebrating the festival.
The festive activities above are among the events under the "Vibrant Hong Kong" theme of the "Hong Kong: Our Home" Campaign. For more information about the lantern carnivals, please visit the website:
www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Entertainment/EntertainmentOffice/events_details/13lanterncarnival/index.html .
Ends/Thursday, September 19, 2013
Issued at HKT 21:30
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