Chinatown will host free festivities on Sunday 6 February
RISING up, back on the street - it’s the Year of the Tiger and on Tuesday 1 February, communities around the world will celebrate Lunar New Year. Festivities last for two weeks, ending on 15 February this year with the lantern festival, which marks the full moon.
In Liverpool, thousands of Chinese lanterns are now in place around the city centre streets with a number of buildings illuminated in red, signifying good fortune and joy to everyone.
Culture Liverpool, Liverpool Chinese Community groups and other organisations have arranged a series of arts and cultural events in the coming week to mark Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year and Spring Festival.
Liverpool’s Chinatown will be the focus for free street festivities on Sunday 6 February around Lord Nelson Street and Great George Street, with plenty of activities for children and adults to enjoy, including a market, fairground rides, lion, dragon and unicorn street parades, food stalls, and a spectacular firecracker display.
Culture Liverpool has commissioned new pieces of work to complement the traditional celebrations on Sunday 6 February:
Pagoda Arts
Pagoda Arts will shine a spotlight on Tian – an up-and-coming young band made up of east/southeast Asian artists who perform a blend of original east-meets-west tracks. They will take to the stage in Great George Square at 2.20pm and 3.50pm, and will play a ticketed event at the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Music Room that evening
Bring The Fire
From 5.15pm, Bring The Fire Project will showcase their incredible skills at the Chinese Arch with a specially created Chinese New Year performance which will incorporate traditional martial arts. They will be joined by Hung Gar Kung Fu’s illuminated dragon and lion.
Movema
Dance company Movema explore the cultural history of Chinese New Year and have produced contemporary work which embraces our diverse communities and celebrates what makes Liverpool so unique and special. A series of pop-up performances will take place in the afternoon, in and around Chinatown with on-stage activity at 3.10pm and 4.25pm.
The Black-e
The Black-e Youth Circus presents Triumph of the Tiger, a short story told through circus skills, illuminations and costume involving young people aged 6 to 18 years. Featuring ground-based and aerial performance, it will create a beautiful illuminated spectacle to tell a simple tale of how we can overcome adversity. The costumes and LED illuminations will be coloured to represent the five tigers from ancient Chinese myths. The performance involves a collaboration with Bring The Fire. Throughout the day The Black-e will also be offering circus skills taster workshops on Nelson Street for members of the public to participate in.
Water Tiger
From Friday 4 to Sunday 6 February, a 3D animated Water Tiger will prowl around the tower inside St Luke’s Church (the Bombed Out Church). Taking place from 6-9pm each night, the projections will transform the tower into a Chinese pagoda, complete with lanterns designed by local schools and community groups. The show, which lasts for ten minutes and will run on a loop each evening, is free but there is an ask for donations for the venue. The work has been created by Focal Studios, Scenegraph Studios in collaboration with the Bombed Out Church.
Zap Graffiti
Work is under way on a new mural that will take pride of place in Great George Square playground courtesy of Zap Graffiti, which is bringing together an award-winning Beijing artist, Tang Shou, and local youngsters to create a piece of art which symbolises what the Year of the Tiger means to them.
For the full listings of Culture Liverpool events on Sunday 6 February visit Culture Liverpool or follow the conversation on socials with #CNYLiverpool
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