Festival Events
ASTROLABE - POUNAMU
Online screening of Internationally-acclaimed filmmaker and choreographer Daniel Belton’s film Astrolabe-Pounamu.
Astrolabe - pounamu draws inspiration from the act of carving and engraving stone, bone - and from printing, impressing. In Chinese culture, the snake is the most enigmatic animal among the zodiac animals. Astrolabe - pounamu enters into a dialogue with methodologies developed by early Asian and Pacific Island astronomers, and suggests a philosphical ideology of the movement of celestial bodies - acknowledging the oneness of all life.
The film draws inspiration from early Pacific Island and Asian cosmology and astronomy and references the serpent-shaped constellation of the Chinese Chunyou Star Chart, engraved in the year 1247, as dancers, glide through space
Watch online here (from 29 January 2025 to 16 February 2025)
PAINT THE TOWN RED - Sssip and Sssavor
Get together with your friends and family for a night out in Courtenay Precinct, sipping drinks and savoring bites from our Paint the Town Red venues.
PAINT THE TOWN RED - Sssidewalk Sssideshow
Firecrackers, street performers and music will bring Courtenay Precinct to life. This will be a fantastic celebration for families, foodies, or festival goers. The night will finish with a fireworks display that will paint the night sky red on Wellington’s waterfront.
FIREWORKS DISPLAY supported by Stonewood Group
A fireworks display in Wellington’s harbour to light the night sky to ward off evil spirits, making way for a new year filled with health, happiness, good luck and prosperity for all Wellingtonians.
ASIAN MARKET - CRAFT STALLS
Immerse yourself in a bustling street market in the heart of TSB Arena where you will experience a rich tapestry of Asian arts, craft and culture. Explore a kaleidoscope of stalls and displays from local community groups and organisations.
LEE KUM KEE ASIAN MARKET - FOOD HALL
The Lee Kum Kee Asian Market is a culinary celebration creating a conduit for family reunion, sharing not just delicious dishes but the warmth of precious family time together.
ECHOES OF ’65 – The year of the wooden snake
A celebration of events and music of 1965 (the last Year of the Wood Snake), which provide the inspiration for performances of song and dance to welcome in 2025, the Year of the Wood Snake.
“Echoes of ‘65” is a curated programme of works to open Festival Day, setting the scene for a colourful and rich cultural entertainment programme by local community groups and performing artists.
Programme to come
FUN IN THE PARK, supported by Four Winds Foundation
Bring the whole family to Frank Kitts Park, a family fun zone where laughter and joy abound!
CULTURAL ENTERTAINMENT
Headlining the 2025 programme is the traditional art of face-changing as TSB Arena’s stage will be lit up with a captivating programme of song, dance and music – a visual feast of traditional and contemporary performances.
ENTER THE DRAGON
A celebration of visual arts and dance. Visual art featuring imagery of the dragon by Kerry Ann Lee, Guy Ngan, Stan Chan and Sam Rawlings as well as a stone sculpture by Brett Keno provide the inspiration for performances of song and dance to welcome in the Year of the Dragon.
FESTIVAL DAY - ASIAN MARKET
Experience the vibrant fusion of Asian arts, crafts and mouth-watering cuisine in Wellington - where the East meets West in a celebration of culture and flavour.
FESTIVAL DAY - CULTURAL ENTERTAINMENT
A five-hour cultural extravaganza of showcasing the diversity of the talents of Wellington’s community groups. TSB Arena’s stage will light up with a captivating programme of song, dance and music – a visual feast of traditional and contemporary performances.
FESTIVAL DAY - THE DRAGONS DEN supported by Four Winds Foundation
Face-painting and dragon themed arts and crafts for the young, and young-at-heart. Watch out for our roving panda, Gods of Wealth and baby dragons who will be available throughout the day for photo opportunities.
DRAGON DANCE
What better way to begin this year’s Lunar New Year Festival experience than to get a birds-eye view of a performance by the WCSCC Dragon Dance Group. The spirit, vitality, soul and charm of the dragon will set the scene for Festival Day, making way for good fortune and luck for all festival-goers visiting TSB Arena and Shed 6.
FIREWORKS DISPLAY supported by Stonewood Group
A fireworks display in Wellington’s harbour to light the night sky to ward off evil spirits, making way for a new year filled with health, happiness and prosperity for all Wellingtonians.
DRAGONS ON THE WATERFRONT
Upper Frank Kitts Park will come alive with Chinese dragon dancers and other performers with site-specific performances along Wellington’s water front prior to the Fireworks Display at 9.30pm.
DRAGON
Good Company Arts present a new dance-theatre film featuring artists from Japan and Aotearoa to observe the incoming Lunar New Year (of the Dragon) 2024.
WELCOMING IN THE LUNAR NEW YEAR
Welcome in the Lunar New Year with Dragon Dance performances at various locations throughout Wellington’s CBD.