Lancaster hosts New Year festival Chinese style

Lancaster is the only place in Lancashire where the Chinese New Year is marked so publicly and up to 600 Chinese lanterns are currently adorning New Street, Penny Street and Market Street as a taster for the Festival.

The family friendly Chinese New Year Festival takes to the streets on Sunday, February 4, with stalls and free workshops beginning from 10am.

The official opening ceremony takes place at 12pm on the plinth in Market Square followed by the lion and dragon parade around the city centre.

Among the new free attractions in St Nicholas Arcades will be a roleplay workshop where festival goers can hold and move the colourful giant heads of the dragon and lion.

St Nicholas Arcades will host free Touhu or Pitch Pot too, a game where arrows are thrown into a bamboo pot.

Also new will be a catwalk display of traditional Chinese dress by Arts of China on the Market Square plinth during the afternoon as well as kung fu and dance demonstrations.

Visitors can try on some Chinese costumes and have their photos taken in the photo booth in the Square and there will be opportunities to have a go at Chinese calligraphy too.

For the past three years, Lancaster’s Chinese New Year Festival has been organised by Popber, a Community Interest Company set up to help businesses in the city and supported by Chinese students from Lancaster University.

“I think it’s very important to share our culture with everyone in Lancaster,” said Josh Leung, one of Popber’s founders who has been supported by Yilin Wu and Percy Lee.

“It’s also important as it brings a feeling of home for many of the Chinese students living in Lancaster. New Year is like Christmas back home, it’s a time of reunion.”

The free festival is a non-profitable event and is funded by Lancaster University, Lancashire County Council, Lancaster University Confucius Institute, Lancaster BID, St Nicholas Arcades, Lancaster University Management School, Berry’s Jewellers and Hainan Airlines.

For more information, visit the website at https://lancastergrand.co.uk/shows/chinese-new-year-variety-show/