Lantern Festival 2016

By Jemma Mrdak.

Celebrate the year of the Monkey at the final event of Chinese New Year, the 2016 Lantern Festival. Situated in the Beijing Garden, Lenox Gardens; the 2016 Lantern Festival will be a night filled with, yep you guessed it; Chinese Lanterns. As well as the bright lights there’ll be performances of Chinese traditional music, children’s dances, martial arts and the lion dance.

This is an event that both the kids and adults will enjoy, and is a great way to learn more about the Chinese culture. The Beijing Garden is a traditional Chinese garden, set on the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin. A traditional Chinese gate welcomes visitors, and paths meander past sculptures crafted using Chinese stone masonry – pretty cool hey!

The garden, which was only opened in late 2014, was a centennial gift from the Beijing Government to the people of Canberra to celebrate the significance of its sister city relationship with the ACT Government.

During the 2016 Lantern Festival, there will be hand-made lantern competitions and a parade. You can bring your own from home or buy one there. There are prizes for the best hand-made lanterns, so get the scissors and Clag out and put those mad craft skill to good use.

Lantern Festival runs 27 February, 6 – 8.30pm

Beijing Garden, Lennox Gardens

Free entry