Cork City Council is celebrating Cork’s strong links with China and her sister city Shanghai by sponsoring two free events heralding the New Year of the Pig. Cork’s first Chinese New Year Festival will take place at Nano Nagle Place on February 4th and later in the month, UCC Confucius Institute and Cork City Council will host a Chinese Spring Festival Gala on February 18th.
This year, Chinese New Year falls on Monday 4th February.
The first event will take place on Chinese New Year itself, 4th February, at Nano Nagle Place on Douglas Street. Hosted by Nano Nagle Place and the Cork Chinese Esoteric Buddhist School, it will begin with a Lions and Dragons Dance on the front plaza of Nano Nagle Place at 4pm, followed by a performance of the 1,000 Light Dharma Rite from 5 to 6pm. This time-honoured ceremony will be performed by Cork’s Chinese Esoteric Buddhists with audience participation, and traditionally carried out to bring health, wealth and good luck “for all sentient beings”. The An Tai Sui Rite will also be performed from 7.15pm to 8.15 pm. This ceremony gives blessings to people who need to “overcome obstacles”, if they are born under a sign that clashes with this year’s Year of the Pig. The Goldie Chapel at Nano Nagle Place will be transformed into a traditional Chinese Temple for the event.
The event is free to attend and all are welcome.
Tickets can be booked for the different time slots on Eventbrite here.
The second event, The Chinese Spring Festival Gala, will take place on February 18th. This event, held in conjunction with the UCC Confucius Institute, will be hosted in Cork City Hall from 7pm to 8.30pm, and will feature a performance of the award winning Hubei Opera And Dance Theatre Group. The Group have toured over 60 countries and this will be their debut performance in Ireland.
The Gala celebrates one of China’s most important festivals and will be a showcase of artistic diversity of traditional Chinese dance, arts and instrumental performances, and it will also feature acrobatics, Peking Opera and the world heritage act of sword dance. During the show, audience members will experience a full-scale audio-visual experience of Chinese culture.
The event is FREE ADMISSION also, and can be booked (prior to February 8th) on Eventbrite.
It is hoped Cork Chinese New Year Festival it will eventually become a weeklong festival celebrating Ireland’s growing multiculturalism.
