Photo Credit: Xplorer Studio
OzAsia Festival favourite, the Moon Lantern Trail, is returning for its third consecutive year, bringing a whimsical and other-worldly experience to the CBD.
Following its conversion from a one-day parade into a four-day trail in 2021, family and friends can walk through an enchanting sea of red and yellow, peppered with roving puppets, glowing tigers and lion dances.
The lion dance is a traditional dance prevalent in China and other Asian countries, which involves performers mimicking lion movements to bring good luck and fortune. OzAsia’s Moon Lantern Festival brings this tradition to life, with costumes specifically reflecting the single-horned Chinese Southern Lion, associated with the legend of the mythical monster, Nian.
In addition to the stunning lion dancers charming onlookers, you can also be delighted by the enormous roving puppets of Rama and Sita – a popular and culturally significant love story, commonly featuring at the Hindu Festival of Light or “Diwali”.
Depicted in the 1995 film A Little Princess, the story of Rama and Sita talks of the great warrior prince, Rama, and his strong, beautiful wife, Sita. While the pair lived happily, the terrible and feared demon king, Ravana, wished to marry Sita himself. Through cunning and trickery, Ravana kidnaps Sita. The story eventually ends with Rama saving his wife, communicating that goodness and light, with persistence and dedications, always wins over darkness.
The OzAsia Moon Lantern Festival honours Diwali and the story of Rama and Sita by lighting lanterns and celebrating the power of goodness.
Alongside these incredibly beautiful traditions and stories, explorers of this trail will be surrounded by symbols of good luck, such as the giant Inu Hariko lantern. Inu Hariko are traditionally paper-mache dogs given to children for good luck, or given to pregnant women as they are believed to be good luck for childbirth.
The Moon Lantern Trail is not only an opportunity for adults to enjoy a spectacular night of light, wandering around Tarntanya Wama/Pinky Flat on the Karrawirra Pari/River Torrens, but its also a chance for kids to become acquainted with rich and wonderful Asian customs.
Moon Lantern Trail
Where: Pinky Flat / Tarntanya Warna
When: Thursday 19th October – Sunday 22nd October, Thursday and Friday from 5pm & Saturday and Sunday from 1pm
Cost: Free
For more information click here.
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