How to Ring in the Lunar New Year in Sydney
Usher in the Year of the Dragon at this crowd-pleasing celebration.
Wandering the streets of Haymarket in Sydney’s CBD with a takeaway box of longevity noodles in hand, the conviviality of the crowd mixed with the steamy summer heat settles into your skin. It’s easy to see why Sydney’s Lunar Festival – now in its 28th year – is the biggest outside Asia. “Sydney loves this festival,” says Lord Mayor Clover Moore, “and we love seeing interstate and international visitors enjoying everything on offer.”
The celebration runs from 10 to 25 February, when the harbour city’s laneways are transformed into open-air galleries and dragon and lion dances parade through the streets. “From concerts and art exhibitions to decadent banquets and walking tours, it’s an amazing atmosphere,” says Moore.
On opening night, a street party takes over Haymarket with live music, street food and cultural performances. Twelve lunar lanterns – each representing a different sign of the Chinese zodiac – will be grouped along four blocks between King and Goulburn streets and lit every night at dusk. The city’s Asian restaurant scene will host special lunar banquets (get in early as they book out fast), from the city to the suburbs of Chatswood and Hurstville – and everywhere in between.
The festival’s second weekend (16-18 February) will see paddlers take to the waters of Cockle Bay for dragon boat racing. And the Lunar Spectacular at the Town Hall will feature performances showcasing Korean, Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and Mongolian cultural traditions.
“The Year of the Dragon is just around the corner,” says Moore, “and we want the whole city to embrace its inner dragon.”
Image credit: David Brooke Martin
