Sydney prepares to welcome the Year of the Rabbit

Sydney is getting ready to launch the biggest celebration of the Lunar New Year outside Asia later this month with the 2011 Sydney Chinese New Year Festival. Sydney will hop into the Year of the Rabbit from 28 January – 13 February with the spectacular Twilight Parade on 6 February. This year’s Festival also features more than 50 events including markets, film screenings, live performances, art exhibitions, food tours, dragon boat races, kids’ activities, a sustainable Live Green House and more.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said: “The City’s 2011 Chinese New Year Festival is certain to be our biggest and best yet, drawing together the best of traditional and contemporary Asia with the cultural diversity of our wonderful City in an extensive 17 day program.”

2011 Festival Highlights

Festival Launch Celebration

6:00pm on Friday, 28th January at Belmore Park (near Central Station) – FREE

Celebrate the launch of this year’s Chinese New Year Festival and the first night of the Festival Markets with exclusive performances, roving entertainers, fireworks and gastronomic delights from China and beyond. Start the night with a spectacular Wudang martial arts performance live on stage by visiting artists from Hubei province in China. This form of martial arts was made famous in the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Harmony singers from Hubei will also ring in the new year of the Chinese zodiac, along with amazing free runners and magic rabbit dancers.

Before the official celebration, you can enjoy the contemporary beats of one of Asia’s hottest DJs, Garry T. The SBS PopAsia radio crew will also take to the stage with competitions, giveaways and non-stop Asian pop until late.

Chinese New Year Markets

Friday 28th – Sunday 30th January at Belmore Park – FREE

Experience an authentic Asian market in Chinatown’s Belmore Park, featuring more than 50 stalls offering food, gifts, traditional produce, crafts, non-stop entertainment and activities for the whole family. Visitors from the City’s partner province, Hubei, are bringing traditional embroidery and

painting to this year’s market, as well as exclusive live martial arts demonstrations and unique harmony singing performances throughout the weekend.

The Belmore Big Screen

The Belmore Big Screen will once again entertain crowds each night, with SBS PopAsia and DJs on Friday night, a live Karaoke competition on Saturday and a film screening of kung fu thriller 14 Blades on Sunday. There will also be live cooking demonstrations for those who can’t resist the gastronomic delights of regional China, and the return of the Live Green House, an interactive urban home decked out with Chinese lanterns, demonstrating sustainable lifestyle solutions for both house and apartment dwellers.

Chinese New Year Twilight Parade

7:45pm – 9:45pm on Sunday, 6th February from Town Hall to Darling Harbour – FREE

The highlight of this year’s Chinese New Year celebration, Sydney’s annual Twilight Parade will be a feast for the senses with fabulous live music, amazing floats, flamboyant dragons, dazzling costumes, beautiful illuminated zodiac lanterns and much more. The Twilight Parade is a great night out for young and old, with a unique mix of traditional and contemporary performances. More than 2500 local and international performers will feature in this street spectacular, including 250 artists from Hubei showing off their world renowned Wudang martial arts, Tujia Waving Hand Dance and three giant floats. You will also see Mad Hoppers on sprung stilts, thrilling human springboards, marching bands, floats from local community and school groups, colourful images of the rabbit in popular culture and rabbit magicians producing surprises from their hats.

The Twilight Parade will conclude with a bang in Darling Harbour with a fireworks show.

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Dragon Boat Races

Saturday 12th – Sunday 13th February at Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour – FREE

This traditional Chinese sport has become a Chinese New Year Festival favourite. Thousands of people are expected to line the shores at Cockle Bay for the largest Dragon Boat racing spectacular in the Southern Hemisphere. The Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Races see more than 3000 paddlers take to the water. Up to 22 people in each boat paddle to the beat of the drum in a hard fought competition to reach the finish line.

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