Sovereign Hill brought Chinese New Year celebrations to Ballarat, and welcomed in the ‘Year of the Dog’ this week. Through the organisation of Sovereign Hill and the Chinese Australian Cultural Society Ballarat, visitors to the museum were able to experience the traditions of Chinese New Year, and the history of Chinese diggers living in the goldfields.
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The special event on Sunday will also be repeated next weekend. The day began with a traditional Chinese Ceremony to welcome in the Chinese New Year, and was followed by a number activities and performances where visitors could participate in the celebrations. A highlight activity of the day was the Lion Dance Workshop where visitors could try Chinese Lion Dancing for themselves.
Crowds, which were 3 times bigger than the previous years, watch on as the Chinese Dragon, Xin Long, and the Chinese Lions danced their way up Main Street giving life and colour to celebrations for visitors.
Celebrations continued at Sovereign Hill’s Gold Museum where the museum’s Chinese processional and temple collections were showcased for the first time. The main attraction of this collection being Australia’s oldest Chinese Dragon, Loong.
The Chinese New Year celebrations and activities will return for Sovereign Hill visitors on Sunday 25th February.
