We are delighted to invite you to the flagship event in our Year of the Rabbit (and Cat) programme on Sunday, 29 January from 12pm-6pm at Meeting House Square. This event has something for all the family to enjoy, including authentic Asian cuisine, Korean drummers, Cantonese lion dancers, Tai Chi demonstrations, Mongolian throat singing, traditional Lunar New Year games, and zodiac-themed face painting to name just a few. There will also be a wide variety of activities and workshops throughout the day, all brought to you by Dublin City Council.

Opening with an address from our Festival Ambassador, Mei Chin, we will say goodbye to the Year of the Tiger and say hello to the Year of the Rabbit with a series of spectacular Cantonese Lion Dancing performances from the legendary Flower City Dragon and Lion Dance Association (various performances from 12pm-6pm). Fresh from their headline performance at this year’s Culture Night, audiences will also experience an energetic Samul Nori drumming performance by Korean School Dublin (2pm-2:30pm), whose talented Children’s Choir will also stage a hearing impaired-friendly performance to celebrate the Lunar New Year (2pm-2:30pm).

Explore the richness of Chinese culture with the Irish Chinese Cheongsam Association as they present Peking Opera performances, traditional musical instruments and dances, Chinese calligraphy and a traditional magic show (1pm-1:45pm), or enjoy a K-pop dance performance from the epic Savage Family Dance Crew, led by Ireland’s own World K-Pop Champion, Sodem Solana, and ring in the Year of the Rabbit by learning some moves at their dance-along demonstration (5pm).

Reset and rebalance for the Year of the Rabbit with the students of the Sam Lee Academy who will demonstrate the slow and graceful movements of the late Sam Lee’s style of Tai Chi and healing Qi Gong (3pm), and celebrate Mongolian Lunar New Year, commonly known as Tsagaan Sar with a variety traditional arts, dancing and music, including traditional Mongolian throat singing (4pm).

Schedule

• 12:15pm: Opening Remarks by Mei Chin
• 12:20pm: Traditional Cantonese Lion Dancing
• 1pm: Peking Opera 
• 1:05pm: Traditional Chinese Music
• 1:35pm: Chinese Magic Show
• 1:45pm: Chinese Calligraphy
• 2pm: Korean School Dublin Children’s Choir
• 2:10pm: Traditional Samul Nori Drumming Performance
• 2:30pm: Traditional Cantonese Lion Dancing
• 3pm: Tai Chi and Qi Gong Demonstration
• 3:30pm: Traditional Cantonese Lion Dancing
• 4pm: Traditional Mongolian Music and Dance
• 5pm: K-Pop Dance Performance and Dance-along
• 5:30pm: Traditional Cantonese Lion Dancing

Food

Experience a taste of Asia with three of Dublin’s finest Asian food stalls from 12pm-6pm:

• Drop into Seoul Kitchen, Ireland’s first Korean street food market stall.  Offering an authentic South Korean cultural experience using fabulous Korean sauces directly from South Korea. 
• Swing by Bahay, known for their authentic and incredible Filipino street food. Their menus tend to focus on locally grown, seasonal Irish produce with Filipino flavours and cooking styles.
• Visit Bullet Duck and Dumplings, who take their inspiration from the kitchens of Hong Kong and Canton. Their cooking team hail from these areas and have many years experience and expertise in the cuisines from these regions.

Games and Activities

• From 12pm-5pm: Korean School Dublin offer visitors a taste of the activities which Koreans traditionally engage in when they gather to celebrate the New Year. These include several games, played by adults and of all ages, such as Tuho. This involves shooting arrows into an urn. Visitors will also get the chance to try on the traditional costume, the Hanbok, and to have their names drawn using brush and ink, in traditional Korean calligraphy. 
• From 12pm-5pm: Join the fantastic team at Dublin Body Paint for zodiac-themed face painting.
• From 3:30pm-5pm: Cantonese in Ireland will combine the Irish shamrock with a decorative lucky charm, commonly seen in Cantonese culture, to make a Good Luck Knot. You can also try your hand at Fish Prawn Crab, a popular dice game played during Lunar New Year celebrations.