Welcome the Year of the Dog!

There’s no question that the Riverside Light Nights have been a huge success over the past week or so, with locals and tourists alike flocking to the Norie-Miller Walk to see the night sky illuminated with stunning colour. If you’ve not yet made it down to the Light Nights yet then you may want to consider it this weekend, as Perth is in for a fantastic spectacle filled with colour, firecrackers, lions and dragons as we begin the celebrations for Chinese New Year!

Join our local Chinese community in the city centre on Saturday for a fantastic parade – see the YouTube video below – which finishes up at the Norie-Miller Walk, where the Riverside Light Nights theme will be Chinese New Year over the course of the weekend.

The event is organised by PKAVS, Perth and Kinross Council, and the Perthshire Chinese Community Association and is growing year on year. Andy Chan, chairman of PKAVS and the PCCA, has been heavily involved in organising this year’s celebrations and he’s excited about what’s in store this weekend.

“Through the years I have been delighted to see the Chinese New Year celebrations in Perth grow and grow, to now become an event where all the diverse communities of our area can share in the joy and appreciate the Chinese culture and celebrations. This weekend, it’s going to be the biggest and best Chinese New Year we have ever seen in Perth.

“This weekend, it’s going to be the biggest and best Chinese New Year we have ever seen in Perth. It’s such an amazing celebration that is so special to us, and we want to share it with our friends and neighbours and show them why we love it so much. It has turned into a true multi-cultural Chinese New Year event and I’m delighted that it has found its place on Perth’s Winter Festival calendar.”

Perth’s Chinese community goes back to the late 1960s, and now we have generations of families who are some of the biggest personalities in our Small City. Andy, like many of his relatives and friends, loves the coming together of two diverse cultures during this special time of the year.

“I think that in Perth the Chinese community is part of all our lives. I was born here; my brothers, sisters, cousins and most other Chinese-Scots my age all consider themselves to be equal parts of both cultures. We really have grown up with the best of both worlds!

“We are moving into the Year of the Dog, and those born in this year are noted as being honest, faithful and loyal companions – a fitting description of the partnership that we all have in every community here in Perth and Kinross!”

GALLERY

There will be a Civic Reception at the Civic Hall on Perth High Street at 4PM on Saturday 10^th February, with Andy and the event’s fellow organisers meeting the Provost Dennis Melloy and local councillors. Then it’s the traditional ‘Lion eating the Lettuce’ to commence the parade which will travel through the city centre and over the bridge to the Norie-Miller Walk where it will end.

The Chinese New Year theme will take over the Riverside Light Nights on Saturday 10^th and Sunday 11^th February, with a host of fun activities for adults and kids alike to enjoy over the two evenings.

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2018 is the Year of the Dog and the official date is Friday 16^th February. So, don’t forget to wish our local Chinese community, “Sun Leen Fai Lok” if you see them around Perth over the next few weeks!

Why not get into the spirit by making yourself something tasty using one of our Chinese recipes? Try making a Asian Soy Chicken Noodle Broth or a Fillet Beef with Black Bean Sauce!