CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS IN CBD WILL BE A CRACKER
LUNAR New Year celebrations will go out with a firecracker bang tonight on Grafton St.
The street, which was formerly China Town, will transform into a celebration of the Year of the Rooster with roadside stalls and street performers.
KUR-World Great Barrier Reef Chinese New Year general manager Nathan Lee Long said the Cairns Airport Chinese New Year Street Festival was sure to impress.
“The event will run from 4pm to 9pm, and it will have stalls with food, arts and crafts. Some stalls will have Chinese decorations and knick-knacks, and others will have kids’ craft activities like painting lanterns,” he said.
“We’ll have a heritage display from the Lit Sung Goong Temple that celebrates 130 years since the temple was built. The display will have the art from the temple from before it was demolished.”
He said planning for an event of this size started more than a year ahead of the date.
“We’ve been planning this street festival since early 2016, but most of the work goes into it in the last three to four months,” he said.
He said the months of planning were worth it to be able to show his children traditions from their ancestors.
“It’s about sharing the cul- ture with everybody but, for me personally, it’s special because it’s an opportunity for my kids to experience their heritage,” he said.
“We’re sixth-generation Australian Chinese from Cairns and for some time that culture was lost.”
Mayor Bob Manning echoed the sentiment and said the festival was a day that all Cairns families and visitors should attend.
“Grafton St is the historical home of Chinese culture in Cairns and was once the largest China Town north of Brisbane. It’s a fitting location for this fantastic family event,” he said.
He added he was expecting thousands to head to the streets to join the festivities.
“Last year’s festival attracted around 18,000 people and we expect it will be similar this year, as we celebrate the Year of the Rooster,” he said.
“We offer a warm welcome to the thousands of Chinese visitors who choose to spend this special event with us, but the street festival is also hugely popular with locals, who can enjoy the Chinese food, art and displays.”
Along with the central Chinese New Year celebrations, Orchid Plaza will hold a food festival celebrating Chinese and other Asian foods, which are now Cairns staples.
Organiser Scott Collingwood said Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean food would be on offer.
“Orchid Plaza has long been thought of as being mainly for tourists but we’re wanting to show that there is plenty in the centre for locals to enjoy as well,” he said.
The Cairns Airport Chinese New Year Street Festival starts on Grafton St at 4 this afternoon.