A weekend of music, art, dance and noodles is set to descend on Vancouver’s Chinatown this weekend as part of the first annual Fire Dragon Festival and Noodlecious event.
Presented in collaboration with the Vancouver Chinatown BIA Society, the Chinese Cultural Centre and others, the festivals aim to promote Chinatown’s cultural heritage through celebration, activities and performances and culinary exploration. All this will be done through several different ways like the curation of several artistic dragons to be displayed throughout Chinatown. Guests will also be able to view and visit the Fire Dragon, attend dragon dancing workshops and watch a Fire Dragon dancing demo.
“Our vision is to establish a community tradition through partnership and collaboration that will strengthen awareness and education about Chinatown’s cultural legacy, and be practiced for years to come,” the festival’s website states.
Over the weekend several events will be hosted at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. These include Chinese lantern-making workshops, Chinese opera makeup demonstrations, and the ceremonial awakening of the Fire Dragon. These events and more can be booked online via Eventbrite.
Slurp some noodles
As part of the Fire Dragon Festival is the inaugural Noodlecious Festiva, which "aims to highlight the quintessential Chinese noodle dish and the cultural diversity in the neighbourhood from participating Chinatown restaurants, in addition to their history in the community," according to a media release.
Participating restaurants include local favourites like Bao Bei, Phnom Penh, and the plant-based Mila, as well as newcomer Nancy Go Yaya.
The event also features a fun Instagram contest for noodle lovers.
Also incorporated into the festival is the 70-foot-long Spirit Dragon created to lift community spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Made with mainly recycled materials and fabrics sourced from local Chinatown shops, the dragon hangs on the wall of the Keefer Building (133 Keefer St.) facing the Memorial Plaza.
The dragon’s body incorporates large amounts of cut-up pieces of calligraphy created by artist Lam Wong which depict the origin of the Fire Dragon Festival in the 19th century. More pieces of calligraphy from the text of a Buddhist Prayer of Compassion are also included. This work is dedicated to all victims, businesses and people that are suffering during the pandemic.
