Dragon dancing (Image: Gareth Jones)
When: 16th June 2018
Where: World Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EN
£: Free admission (drop-in, no booking required)
What is it?
Liverpool’s Dragon Boat Festival will be taking place on Saturday 16th June at the World Museum with a day of free events.
Visitors will be able to celebrate the festival with performers from the Liverpool Hung Gar Kung Fu School. There will be colourful and vibrant dragon dancing performances and Kung Fu demonstrations; followed by workshops where you can learn a few moves for yourself. There will also be the opportunity to have a go at making a zodiac animal mask and learn about the Chinese calendar.
The Dragon Boat Festival is an important and traditional holiday in China; with a place on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, it has been a public holiday in China since 2009 but has traditionally been observed in the country for more than 2000 years. The festival is an auspicious occasion, with dragon boat racing the most important part of the celebrations. The wooden boats involved are elaborately decorated in the form of Chinese dragons and race to the sound of beating drums. It is thought that the winners will have good luck for the next year.
This year’s festival coincides with the museum’s current exhibition, China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors, which runs until 28th October 2018. Dragons are an important aspect of traditional Chinese culture, as symbols of power, strength and good luck. The importance of these creatures is visible in a number of pieces included in the exhibition, such as dragon pendants, belt buckles and wine vessels. The exhibition itself is ticketed, so anyone wishing to have a look on the day will need to pre-book.
More info: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/wml/events
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