Chinese New Year 2019

Chinese New Year is coming up and New Zealand cities are making plans to celebrate. While for most small towns in New Zealand, Chinese New Year will go unnoticed, there will be events to celebrate it in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin.

The Whau Chinese New Year Festival will be held in Auckland on Sunday the 10th of February.  It will be at Olympic Park in New Lynn. Last year, more than 3,500 people attended the festival, and we can expect something similar this year.

Hamilton hasn’t confirmed any plans for Chinese New Year just yet, but the Clarence Street Theatre is in the process of organising something. If you live in Hamilton, you may like to volunteer to help.

Wellington has an extensive range of activities planned for the weekend. There will be a dance performance and fireworks on Saturday and three events on Sunday: a parade from Courtenay Place to Frank Kitts, a market and cultural entertainment. The main venue is the TSB Arena.

In Christchurch, there will be a parade on Sunday. It will go from the Bridge of Remembrance to Cathedral Square and will feature the Qiao Yi Hong De Lion Dance Team.

Dunedin’s celebrations will be on Tuesday 5th of February in the Chinese Garden. There will be a Dragon Parade, dragon and lion dances, and other entertainment.

Vocabulary:

coming up: a phrase verb meaning that something will happen in the future

go unnoticed: this means that people do not notice it

extensive: large and diverse

venue: a place where an event is held

Comprehension questions: