Around Parramatta 4:00 pm
Join billions of people around the world celebrating Lunar New Year, one of the most anticipated events in the Asian cultural calendar. The exciting celebrations are taking place in Sydney’s geographical heart, Parramatta – known for being one of the most diverse areas in NSW. Next February, many cultures represented in Sydney, including the city's Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Korean communities will come together to mark the beginning of Year of the Snake, symbolising transformation, intuition and ambition.
The City of Parramatta invites everyone to join the festivities with an epic free event featuring food markets, lion dancing, fire crackers and so much more. To ring in the New Year, Parramatta Square, Centenary Square and Phive will transform into vibrant family-friendly spaces filled with activities and adorned with beautiful decorations.
Start the festivities with a visit to Parramatta Square where illuminated artwork from artist Chris Yee will be on display. Then head to the entertainment stages where you can expect spectacular performances from lion dancers as they balance three metres in the air. You can also take in a serene Chinese tea ceremony, learn to shuffle the tiles over a game of mahjong and create your own comic or zine. Keep your eyes peeled for live roving characters in the crowd and Japanese idol dance performances by Smash.
No Lunar New Year celebration is complete without a feast, so head to the street food market to sample mouth-watering dishes across 20 different stalls. City of Parramatta has teamed up with Optus to spread the good fortune with the return of a Wishing Tree, which is popping up in Phive. There’s also an exciting program of live entertainment that blends tradition with contemporary culture on the Ngurra Gunya stage at Parramatta Town Hall. Plus, boost your energy by joining a K-Pop dance class run by the Korean Cultural Centre or opt for a K-pop random dance play to your favourite songs.
The festivities kick off from 4pm and run until 9pm on Saturday, February 1. Find out more here.