LUNARFEST CELEBRATIONS
VANCOUVER ART GALLERY PLAZA
Feb 9th – 10th / 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
The heroes of the Lunar New Year are coming to Canada, revealing their true identity as little pigs from all around the world! This time, it isn’t the apprentices coming to spread their faith, but the masters themselves! Twelve one meter high pig heroes will be at the 2019 LunarFest event, each representing a different cultural specialty. These twelve pigs are going to light up the LunarFest, so be sure to come check them out. Don’t be afraid to get close to them to take some pictures, too!
A group of alien pigs are coming to Earth, and they need our help! We urgently need everyone to step into the mysterious cosmos, and help them solve their greatest problem. They want to collect all the money in our world, so they can continue onto their next great adventure!
This is a fun event for all ages, and through the activities we have planned, children can even learn about world currencies and how money works. The first people to finish the event can also win a prize! We welcome all families and friends to come experience it.
Doesn’t everyone wish for great wealth every new year? Come participate in our lucky money bath! All you need to do is throw some change into our red piggy bank, and make a wish for the new year! It’s not only a way to wish for some luck in the new year, but you can also come admire the artistic design of our piggy bank, which can be seen only at the LunarFest!
At the beginning of this new year, many people wonder: what kind of year will 2019 be? Well, LunarFest is back with our classic fortune telling event to give you all the answers you’ll need! You can learn more about the secrets of Oriental Fortune Telling. Experience it for yourself, but most importantly, have some fun! Come take advantage of this event, and maybe get a glimpse of your future, too!
This Lunar New Year let the unique robots celebrate with you! A sea of Sky Lanterns is a beautiful sight, but cleaning up after they are launched is also important. Come check out our Lunar Robots all the way from Taiwan as they are being trained to pick up these lanterns! Help us train these robots to make sure we keep our earth beautiful.
Lunar New Year is a time for friends and family to spend good times together. LunarFest tries to design unique and fun crafts that tie in with the theme of Lunar New Year. By participating in the DIY process, it will definitely be a shared moment of happiness for both adults and children! This year’s Lunar Crafts include the Pig Hero Lanterns, fish made from shell ginger leaves, pigs made from cotton thread, Chinese character good luck charms, origami flowers and more, come and try for yourself!
* All crafts are free of charge except for the Pig Hero Lanterns.
A warm and delicious meal can make a cold day feel so much better. LunarFest has invited vendors to sell heartfelt food onsite. Invite your dear friends and family to get together and enjoy the food. At the same time, there will be performances, displays, and games to go with your meal, the best way to kick start the Lunar New Year with energy.
Giuseppe Castiglione, an 18th century missionary, travelled from Italy to China during the Qing Dynasty and started a brand new era in Eastern art history. Castiglione brought European painting techniques such as perspective, highlights and shadows to the Qing Dynasty, blending them with traditional ink wash painting, colouring, silk and brush Eastern techniques. He even introduced European style architectural design into the imperial palace. Castiglione is considered to be one of the most influential artists for the cultural exchange between the West and the East. Even though Castiglione had never been to Taiwan, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan is considered to have one of the premier collections of Castiglione’s work. Lunar Movie presents “Giuseppe Castiglione in China: Imperial Painter, Humble Servant”, a documentary that tells Castiglione’s life story and also reflects on the relationship between life in the palace and artistic creativity.
Celebrating the Year of the Pig isn’t only for Asian cultures! Many cultures in the world have their own myths, stories, and ways of celebrating lunar new year and pigs. There’s no better time to learn more about our neighbours!
Stay tuned to find out who our partners are!
Have you ever wanted to really start saving money, but always felt unnerved by the prospect of having a bottomless piggy bank to fill? Or had the urge to spend all your money before you even reached your goal?
These creative products made by Taiwanese designers will make it easy for you! Why can’t your piggy bank have many openings to put money into? Or have an easily accessible way to get money out? LunarFest is working closely with Taiwan’s designer platform 25togo to bring two new creative models of piggy banks to Canada. Saving money can also be fun!
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