Celebrating Auckland Lantern Festival

While the Chinese migrants in New Zealand are trying to adapt to the local life, New Zealanders are trying to learn more about Chinese cultures. The Lantern Festival has become one of the major Chinese New Year celebrations in New Zealand and the 11th Auckland Lantern Festival was held in Albert Park, Auckland City on 26 to 28 February. This is also the eleventh year Fo Guang Shan Temple (North Island) has participated in this celebration organized by Auckland City Council and Asian New Zealand Foundation.
Under the guidance of Venerable Rulian and Venerable Miao Yu, the volunteers started the preparation for the food stalls and the Buddhist gift stall a few weeks earlier. On 26 February, they started their day early in the morning to set up the stalls in the Albert Park.
The crowd started to arrive at about 5pm in the evening. Besides delicious food stalls and crafts, there were a number of interesting and exciting family entertainments and a Chinese New Year Lanterns Exhibition. Performers from overseas had been invited like, the Rolling lantern folk dance which combined athletics, dance and acrobatics, throat singing from Mongolia and the Shanghai musical ensemble ‘Moon’ which is a dynamic group of young musicians who play traditional instruments assimilated with contemporary electronic music.
During the official opening at 8pm, Chinese lion and dragon dances announced the arrival of the Prime Minister Mr John Key, Auckland Mayor John Banks and Minister for Ethnic Affairs Pansy Wong. The crowd was very excited and requested handshakes and photographs with the Prime Minister.
The night ended with the hustling and bustling of the Albert Park.