It’s 2019 and the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival (DCNYF) is celebrating the Year of the Pig, oink!
This year, the festival is bigger and better than ever with an amazing programme of events. There’s events, workshops, talks, comedy, music, film – something for all the family. Details of the festival’s programme were announced today, January 8th 2019, showing the array of events that will run from February 1 – 17.
The Year of the Pig in 2019 completes a full cycle of the zodiac for the festival. It’s grown to become one of the biggest celebrations of Chinese New Year in Europe since its inception in 2008. A Dublin City Council initiative, the festival aims develop and showcase the best of Sino-Hibernian culture in Ireland.
According to the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Earth Pig is a year of fortune and luck, a year of friendship and love for all the zodiac signs.
What the pig represents
A pig represents luck, overall good fortune, wealth, honesty, general prosperity, symbolizing a hard-working, a peace-loving person, a truthful, generous, indulgent, patient, reliable, trusting, sincere, giving, sociable person with a large sense of humour and understanding.
The Festival’s programme invites Dubliners of all ages to immerse themselves in Chinese culture and be part of this cultural celebration. What’s great about the festival is that the majority of the events are FREE!
You can hear world renowned guitarist Xuefei Yang or experience a unique Chinese / Irish musical collaboration between two extraordinary artists, percussionist Beibei Wang and fiddle player Danny Diamond. Take part in one of the many celebrations: explore the Spring Festival Gala or Spring Festival Fair, try your hand at Chinese Square Dancing and join in the Hill Street Family Resource Centre’s annual Chinese New Year celebration where you can learn Origami, Tai Chi and Shadow Puppetry.
Talks include an introduction to the Chinese writing system, learn more about decluttering your life from Emma Gleesonlaugh or laugh with Chinese comedian Ken Cheng. There’s an exciting programme of films to see, while foodies can enjoy Chinese cuisine with a food extravaganza, tasting sessions and cookery demonstrations. Immerse yourself in the culture by taking an excursion / tour to learn more and culture and religion in China or meet the pigs at Dublin City Farm.
For the fourth year, a number of buildings and sites across Dublin will once again be lighting their facades red to mark Chinese New Year from 1 – 5 February.
