PRESS RELEASE

22 September 2009

Chinese Culture Day 09 at Te Papa on Saturday 26 September

to Celebrate the Moon Festival

The Chinese community in Wellington will celebrate the Moon Festival with a full-day programme of cultural activities at Te Papa on Saturday 26 September.

Live demonstrations of  painting, calligraphy, costumes and poetry will be given at the Wellington Foyer in the morning, commencing 10.00am.  Performances of the dramatic Lion Dance, Dragon Dance, Drum Dance and kungfu at the Te Papa Forecourt at 12.00 noon will precede a mihi whakatau at Te Marae on Level 4 at 1.15pm,  to be followed immediately by a programme of Chinese community cultural performances ranging from children’s dances to classical songs to Cantonese Opera..  At 3.00pm local and overseas Chinese professional musicians  will perform in concert at  Soundings Theatre on Level 2.

“This is the first time in Wellington that new and old Chinese migrant communities, together with student, scholar and artist groups and professional musicians have joined  to celebrate one of the most important festivals of the Chinese calendar -  the Moon Festival,” said Steven Young, National President of the New Zealand Chinese Association, and one of the organisers of the event.

The overall programme, which will involve more than 180 performers,  is under the creative direction of Mr Shen Nalin, a composer at the New Zealand School of Music.

Culture Day 09 precedes the Chinese community’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of China’s National Day.

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