This February Newport City Council, The Newport Chinese Community Centre and The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre are delighted to be working in partnership to bring a spectacular Lunar New Year Celebration to Newport City Centre on Saturday 10 February.
This celebratory day of events marks the first time these Newport groups have come together to mark this important day in the lunar calendar and hope the day of activity will bring many members of the Newport community together in celebration.
Titled ‘The Dragons Are Coming!’, the event on Saturday 10 February will be filled with performances, workshops and activities all celebrating the spirit of the Lunar New Year. Beginning at 10am in Friars Walk, there will be an unmissable procession bringing the city centre streets alive with energy and excitement thanks to mesmerising lion dancers.
Organisers welcome all to come along and join in with this family friendly procession; create your own dragon puppet or sculpture with your family, friends, colleagues, or community group, bring your own lantern, or just come along in your best red attire and join in the fun.
The procession will make its way to The Riverfront Theatre for a day of free activity for all ages taking place from 11am - 5pm. There will be workshops to join celebrating a range of Chinese crafts and traditions including shadow puppetry, Chinese tea ceremony and calligraphy, alongside spectacular music and performances.
Councillor Jane Mudd, leader of Newport City Council and cabinet member for strategic investment and economic growth, said: “We are really excited to be working with the Newport Chinese Community Centre and Newport Live to create a fantastic Lunar New Year event.
“This will be the first time Newport has held a parade for Lunar New Year, and I’m pleased that we have been able to help organise what should be a fantastic event to mark the occasion. “We are very much looking forward to bringing the city together to celebrate on February 10th.”
On the event, May Ling Evans chairperson of The Newport Chinese Community Centre comments "The Newport Chinese Community Centre is a charity in Newport serving the local community, focusing on the older Chinese community for over 20 years. We are delighted to welcome The Year of The Dragon with everyone in Newport sharing the joy and excitement of traditional food, Chinese crafts and lion dance. We hope everyone comes to join us on the day.”
Gemma Durham, Head of Theatre, Arts and Culture at The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre adds “We are delighted to be working alongside The Newport Chinese Community Centre and Newport City Council on this incredible event. Its going to be a fantastic event for all ages and we can’t wait to open the doors of The Riverfront for such an exciting day of activity in celebration of the year of the dragon.”
You can find out more about this incredible event and how you can get involved in a range of activities at home to launch the year of the dragon here, or by following The Riverfront on social media, Facebook: TheRiverfront and Instagram & X: @riverfrontarts.
