ASB Lunarfest 2012: The Year of the Dragon

Date 21 Jan 2012
Time 3:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Location TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre

World TV Limited (WTV), New Zealand’s leading Chinese media network, presents the ASB LunarFest 2012.

Annually attracting over 50,000 people, including Chinese, Korean, Japanese and local Kiwis, another record crowd is expected for the Year of the DRAGON celebrations on Saturday, 21st of January 2012, just two days before the arrival of the Year of the DRAGON on the 23rd of January.

It is a tradition for Asians, especially Chinese, to have a festival before the New Year Eve. They call it “Flower Market” where they can buy flowers and plants, which has grown to include crafts, arts and other items, to bring fortune in the new year. It has also been designed that the Chinese name for ASB LunarFest is translated to mean “Flower Market”.

World TV has been preparing this event for several months since mid-2011. The event provides a summer festival extravaganza with cultural and magical performances, pop music, and entertainment. These performances include Show Plays from Gansu in China, Xinjiang Folk Dance, and Maori Dance. Attendees will also be given a treat by the talented Chinese Idols and New Zealand Chinese Beauty Queens on stage.

The finalists for the Lunar New Year Colouring Contest will also be displayed at TelstraClear Pacific, home of the ASB Lunarfest. Twenty finalists from each group of participants were selected from over 200 entries. From these forty finalists there will two prizes of a $50 credit into the winners’ ASB Headstart account. One prize will be awarded to finalists aged between 5yrs to 7yrs and the second prize will be awarded to the finalists aged 8yrs and over.

Over 200 stall holders are invited to participate in the festival. They include mobile farm, Fantasy Castle, Airborne Adventure, Merry goes around, Bouncy Castle, Asian food and cuisine, tradition arts and crafts. Participants will enjoy a family big day out with such great entertainments and good foods.

ASB LunarFest 2012, The Year of the DRAGON, is from 3:00 pm to 11:00 pm. There will be an official ceremony attended by Prime Minister John Key at 8:15 pm.

The highlight of the event is the fireworks display at 10:00 pm which symbolizes the expulsion of all mishaps in 2011 and brings in fortune for the year of the DRAGON to the world. Special sequences of red and gold along with choreographed new pyrotechnic effects will provide an exciting 12 minute show. Hundreds of star shells will burst over the area along with thousands of lower level effects to provide a colourful and explosive array of pyrotechnics. It will definitely wrap up the event with joy and claps.

This is the 5th year ASB Bank as Title Sponsor as a strong commitment of ASB and local Asian communities.