‘Chinese New Year kicks off on February 16th and 2018 is the year of the dog (yay!). If you’re looking for a way to celebrate and take in the fun, look no further than these organised events around the UK…’
Liverpool
Liverpool’s Chinese population is responsible for producing my lovely husband and partner in crime, Les, so I think we can safely say it’s the best in the UK. There’s always a mountain of things to do for CNY, which means that you’re guaranteed a good show if you head over to celebrate in Liverpool. Kicking off on Friday 16th, the city’s Chinatown will host a light show for the first of 3 nights, and this will include displays on the beautiful ornate arch and the Back E. Over the weekend, Chinese and British students will be donning traditional Chinese dress and putting on displays of dance, with a hip-hop theme. The main event over the festive weekend will be the giant dragon and lion parade, starting from 7pm on Saturday, and features members of Hung Gar Kung Fu. The parade starts on Bold Street and snakes its way through the city, eventually finishing up at Liverpool One.
Related Articles
Manchester
This northern city has one of the largest Chinese population in the UK and always does NY celebrations in style. A pop up food festival will take place in St Anne’s Square over the weekend of 17th-18th Feb, and offers the delights of traditional dim sum and dumplings of all shapes and sizes. If you head on over to Manchester Art Gallery on Sunday 18th, you can catch Chinese musician, Henry Fung, playing a range of music used in the traditional and celebratory dragon parades. There’s also a slew of child friendly activities on here, from art to story telling. The main event of the weekend, the dragon parade, will take place on Sunday 18th and kicks off with a martial arts display at noon. This is followed by a parade throughout the city, led by a massive and very colourful dragon, roaring its way through Albert Square and into Chinatown. The parade will culminate in a huge firework display, starting at 6pm.
London
Not to be outdone by its northern counterparts, the English capital will be playing host to a huge variety of events throughout the West End as it kicks of celebrations for The Year of The Dog. From 12pm on Saturday, Trafalgar Square will play host to dazzling displays of dancing, marital arts, hip hop acts, and plenty of food trucks to satisfy your craving for dim sum. If you, like my husband, love your Chinese tea, there’s a fabulous workshop being held at the China Exchange to show you how to make your own blend and explain the healing properties of various herbs and spices. In your face, PG Tips. The main event, as it is across the country, is the dragon parade and subsequent firework display in Trafalgar Square, which will close out the weekend of celebrations.
Glasgow
In the beautiful setting of the city’s central George Square, Chinese New Year will kick off with a mixture of traditional Chinese and traditional Scottish events to highlight the two cultures who live side by side in Scotland’s second city. Noise and colour are the main elements, with displays of dancing, martial arts, bagpipes (obviously…), and the all important Dragon and Lion dance. The festivities kick off at 12pm on Sunday 18th February.
Bangor, North Wales
Over here in North Wales, we are not ones to be left out of the celebrations. With Bangor University hosting so many Chinese students, and the local town boasting many food outlets, as well as 2 large Asian grocery stores, it’s no surprise that the Welsh and Chinese residents celebrate each other’s cultures. The Pontio Cinema will be showing a range of Chinese films over the course of the weekend, and the foyer off the venue will see live music, family friendly craft workshops, calligraphy lessons, the painting of traditional Beijing opera masks, and a host of other activities. At noon on Sunday at Bangor’s Town Clock, the dragon parade will kick off with an explosion of colour and sound and features local school children, as well and patrons from the Confucius Institute.
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Newcastle’s 2018 NY celebrations are brought to you by a very successful crowd funding campaign and match funding from local organisations, which might be the sweetest, most community-minded thing I’ve ever heard. Those donations will bring you a scheduled parade, for the very first time, from the Monument at Old Eldon Square to Chinatown, featuring dancing, dragons, unicorns, lions, drums, lanterns and, of course, traditional Chinese food. If we know anything about Tyneside it’s that they’re a friendly bunch who enjoy a good party, so it’s guaranteed to be a fantastic display of Chinese and English culture in the heart of Newcastle.
Where ever you decide to ring in the year of the dog; have a good one.
