Historic Dragon Eye Dotting Ceremony Launches Newcastle’s Lunar New Year Celebrations

Celebrations will start at Grey’s monument at 10.45am with live performances and a historic dragon eye dotting ceremony, before the official parade starts at 11:30am. The parade and celebrations will move down Blackett Street and Gallowgate, before passing through Newcastle’s iconic Chinese Arch, making its way through Stowell Street, where the celebrations will continue in Chinatown and on Bath Lane until 4pm.

The traditional Dragon Eye Dotting Ceremony is a rare and symbolic Chinese ritual dating back over 2,000 years. VIP guests and local dignitaries will be invited to ‘dot the eye’ of Newcastle’s new dragon, the first the city has welcomed in over a decade.

The eye dotting represents the awakening and blessing of the new dragon ahead of its first dance performance and parade bringing good luck, health and prosperity to the city and its businesses.

After the ceremony, firecrackers will signal a lively start to the annual parade at 11.30am which will begin at Grey’s Monument before heading along Blackett Street towards Stowell Street and the Chinese Arch. Over 150 performers, made up of community groups, university students and school pupils will take part in the 45-minute parade. Each group will showcase traditional dance, drumming and demonstrations along the route.

Leading the parade will be Newcastle’s new 13-metre long dragon with its newly opened eyes, choreographed by a team of 15 dancers from Newcastle’s Kung Fu, Lion and Dragon Club.

Community groups including the Newcastle Mandarin Chinese School will play traditional Chinese drums, and student members of the Confucius Institute at Newcastle University will join the parade dressed in traditional dress. The Boat Ladies from a village in Hong Kong will perform a celebratory rowing dance, traditionally performed at weddings and for family celebrations. The team’s synchronised rowing dance symbolises bringing happiness back to the village, reconnecting with their heritage and preserving the legacy of the ‘people of the water’.

As the parade and festivities get underway at the Monument, another set of celebrations will be happening at the Chinese Arch on Stowell Street at the entrance to Chinatown. Celebrations at Stowell Street start at 11.00am when a group of VIP guests will be welcomed by the Chinese Festivities Group, with Tai Chi displays and traditional Chinese dancing performed by students from Newcastle’s Confucius Institute.

Local food vendors and community groups will also be running free arts and craft activities on Bath Lane, from 10.30am – 4pm with opportunities to learn how to play traditional Chinese games with international students from Newcastle University.

Dancers from Edmund Ng Kung Fu Lion and Dragon Club North East Kung Fu club will have a second Chinese lion roaming around Bath Lane providing ample opportunities for photographs.

Yvonne Ng, from the Chinese Festivities Group said: “So much preparation goes into the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. Rehearsals for the dragon dances and Tai Chi displays have been taking place since early December, and seeing it all come together is exciting. With three lively, colourful celebrations happening at once, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Central to this year’s event is the introduction of a new Chinese Dragon and we encourage people to come into Newcastle to witness the symbolic eye dotting ceremony and be part of these historic celebrations.”

Ben Whitfield, Director of Communications at NE1 said: “Each year Newcastle’s Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations get bigger and better providing a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the city’s rich cultural history and diversity while honouring century-old traditions. We’re proud to be home to one of only five Chinatowns in the UK and are delighted to support these fantastic celebrations in the heart of the city.”

For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1191080936538219.