Lunar New Year Festival events launched across multiple Chatswood locations

Willoughby City Council, on Sydney's lower North Shore, has launched the Chatswood Lunar New Year Festival celebrating The Year of the Tiger. Spanning across multiple Chatswood locations, the events showcase the cultures of China, Vietnam, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Now in its fourth year, the 2022 festival is its most vibrant to date, featuring an expansive program of comedy, art, music, performance, food, and traditional cultural celebrations, running until Sunday 20th February.

To mark the start of Chinese New Year, a Celebration Day on 5th February at The Concourse will be one of Sydney’s largest Lunar New Year celebrations. Festivities on the day will include Chinese Opera, K-pop, traditional dance, and Lunar New Year delicacies.

Willoughby City Council Mayor, Tanya Taylor notes “This Festival is a celebration of the diversity of Chatswood and Asian culture as we welcome in the Year of the Tiger this Lunar New Year. There are so many incredibly talented Asian-Australian artists, performers and creatives in our country and it’s a delight to showcase them in our vibrant program of events. There’s something for everyone with art, comedy and music, as well as the best of Chatswood’s dining scene to be discovered through a curated food trail. It’s the perfect way to celebrate Lunar New Year!”

The cultural delights on offer include traditional festivities, as well as opportunities to celebrate through the best contemporary culture, including a one-night-only Lunar New Year Comedy Festival on 12th February at The Concourse. The lineup will feature some of Australia’s funniest Asian-Australian comedians such as Lawrence Leung, Alex Lee, Michael Hing, Annie Louey, Harry Jun, Diana Nguyen, Suraj Kolarkar and Suren Jayemanne.

Throughout the Festival, a diverse musical program will create a lively atmosphere. From 10th to 13th February, The Concourse outdoor space will come alive with Chatswood Tiger Beats, a free outdoor concert series with a popup bar by Archie Rose, featuring some of the best Asian-Australian pop, RnB, and electronic artists, including Rainbow Chan, AnSo, Maggie Tra and Yeo. For classical music lovers, a pocket-sized one-hour version of the classic Mozart opera The Magic Flute directed by Peter Coleman-Wright AO will be performed on Saturday 19th February by Pacific Opera and Willoughby Symphony Orchestra in the Concert Hall at The Concourse; and an evening of orchestral music merging East and West will take place on 5th February at the Year of the Tiger In Concert.  

Large-scale installation and art exhibitions will be presented across Chatswood until the end of the Festival, including a major new installation by acclaimed artist Simone Chua from Amigo and Amigo of a mother tiger and her four cubs in The Concourse Reflection Pool, alongside a live mural of a tiger painted by Western Sydney artist Christina Huynh (aka STYNA) at The Mix. At The Incinerator, The World that Feels Warm, curated by Guan Wei, features work by artists such as Tracey Moffatt, Tim Johnson, Owen Leong, Ginger Jingzhe Li, and Huajie Zhang. At the Art Space on the Concourse, Parallel Wanderings presents work by Australian artists with Chinese cultural roots exploring Chinese landscape traditions through sculpture, photography, installation, and performance art.

Every Thursday and Friday throughout the Festival and on Saturday 5th February, The Golden Market will transform Chatswood Mall. A traditional market akin to those found in cities across Asia to celebrate the New Year, it will feature stalls offering Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese food, as well as Lunar New Year decorations and gifts.

The finest of Chatswood’s Asian eateries will also celebrate through a Food Trail, mapped out to highlight the remarkable Asian cuisine in the area, curated by respected food writer Lee Tran Lam. Visitors will be able to discover the best places to sample traditional Lunar New Year foods, from pork for good wealth to noodles for a longer life span.

The Chatswood Year of the Tiger festival is staged thanks to key partnerships with local businesses, media sponsors, and with the support of the Australia China Institute for Arts and Culture at The University of Western Sydney, SBS, ACY Securities, and Chatswood Culture Bites.

Willoughby City Council is following a COVIDSafe plan and continues to follow the health advice from state and federal government to deliver its services and activities in the safest ways for staff, volunteers and the community.

Go to www.visitchatswood.com.au/lny for more information on the Chatswood Year of the Tiger Festival, as well as booking, and ticketing details.

Image (from left): Artist Simone Chua, comedian Alex Lee, artist Dapeng Liu and pipa player Zina Fan. Credit: Jacquie Manning