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In celebration of the Spring Lantern Festival, which falls on the same day as Valentine's Day this year, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) is holding the Urban Lunar New Year Lantern Carnival at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza tonight (February 14). Visitors are flocking to the carnival to enjoy spectacular lantern displays, boisterous entertainment and colourful shows.
The Piazza is decorated with glittering LED lights as well as heart-shaped and rose-shaped lanterns, in addition to the current thematic lantern display "Roaming in Love", which features the wedding customs of different countries including a traditional Chinese wedding scene, a Western royal wedding and Japanese and Korean wedding scenes and costumes. The lanterns have become popular spots for photo-taking and have created a joyful and romantic ambience at the carnival.
Another highlight is "Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage - Exhibition on Craftsmanship of Lantern Making" organised by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. The display, crafted by local masters, features three sets of unicorns in different regional styles - Hakka, Dongguan and Hailufeng - together with a 3-metre-high hexagonal-shaped lantern made from bamboo strips, wishing good luck and great fortune to every visitor.
Carnival-goers are also enjoying performances including spectacular folk songs and dances, instrumental performances and Chinese operatic songs by the Anhui Arts Troupe, as well as Cantonese opera excerpts, live band performances and dragon dances by local groups. Other activities such as an origami workshop, a wish-making corner, a lantern quiz and Chinese folk crafts demonstrations on paper-cutting, embroidery and silver ornaments, as well as traditional lantern making by arts and crafts masters from Guangdong and Hong Kong, are also being well received.
The lantern installations will continue until February 23, while the thematic lantern display "Roaming in Love" is running until March 2.
The LCSD will hold two more lantern carnivals on February 15 and 16. Details are as follows:
1. New Territories East Lunar New Year Lantern Carnival
Date and time: February 15 (Saturday),
7.30pm to 10.30pm
Venue: Po Tsui Park, Tseung Kwan O
Programme: Spectacular ethnic songs and dances,
Chinese folk craft demonstrations,
performances by youth organisations,
magic shows, acrobatics, puppetry,
handicrafts workshops and a lantern
quiz.
2. New Territories West Lunar New Year Lantern Carnival
Date and time: February 16 (Sunday),
7.30pm to 10.30pm
Venue: Tin Shui Wai Park and
Ginza Square
Programme: Spectacular ethnic songs and dances,
Chinese folk craft demonstrations,
performances by youth organisations,
music performances, workshop,
wish-making corner, lantern quiz
and fortune-telling.
For more information on the above events, please visit the website: www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Entertainment/EntertainmentOffice/events_details/14lanterncarnival/index.html .
Ends/Friday, February 14, 2014
Issued at HKT 21:00
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