Fashion designer Claudia Chan Shaw heralds the new Chinese year with festivities set to delight

(Photo:formal dresses) When Sydney’s beloved Chinese New Year Twilight Parade was axed from the city’s event calendar due to the construction of the CBD light rail, revellers and authorities alike were left wondering how they would celebrate the festivities.
This year, several weeks of celebration will ring in the Year of the Monkey, replacing the decade-old parade with a festival that runs from Chinatown down to Darling Harbour, headed up by fashion designer Claudia Chan Shaw.
“While in the past people’s favourite was the parade, this year will be totally different,” Ms Shaw said.
“Instead of a parade that runs for three hours, there will be nine days of celebrations and events.”
Huge zodiac ‘lanterns’ — glowing animals in the shape of star signs — will light a path across the city, and landmarks including the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, Circular Quay Station, Sydney Town Hall and the Capitol Theatre will bask in red light to symbolise good fortune and joy.
“This embraces the whole city with staggeringly wonderful designs,” Ms Shaw said. “Imagine giant monkeys down on the Sydney foreshore, 8m dragons down at Dawes Point and oversized rabbits doing tai chi in Customs House Square.
“While lanterns have traditionally been used throughout the history of Chinese culture, we wanted to do something that had never been done before. This isn’t China or Hong Kong. We wanted to show off Sydney and make it glitter.”
Instead of marching in the parade, cultural community groups will be given space around the city to do multiple performances, and favourites including the dragon boat race and the lunar feasts will still go ahead.
For those wanting to learn more about traditional Chinese culture, there is the opportunity to take part in a tea ceremony, or to learn to play mahjong over dim sum.
“This is such a significant event not just in Chinese culture, but for Taiwanese, Japanese, Vietnamese and many others,” Ms Shaw said.

“We want people to step into new territory. We want to bring a smile to their face and delight to the eyes.”Read more at:cocktail dresses uk