Thank goodness for early morning television!!! Why you might ask? Because sometimes they let you know about things you might have missed otherwise-one of the weather segments was showing some amazing peacocks (seen here in all it's amazing glory0
and mentioning the annual Festival of Lights
(really? An annual event? How have I never heard of it? I read the local papers and somehow I've missed it for the last couple of years....but now that I've been to see it I want to go again.
Silk lanterns that have been created to celebrate Chinese culture (and animals, sealife and an amazing garden scene) cover the show grounds and the sounds of Chinese music and opera waft
out of speakers as you wander around enjoying all that there is to see.
Each lantern is amazingly detailed, and the expressions on some of the faces completely change with just one brushstroke....they are amazing!!!!
The creators of these amazing lanterns are from
the Sichuan Province Of China, which is reflected in the wonderful Operatic characters on display
and added to the music playing over the speakers made me think it would be awesome to see a Chinese Opera in all it's glory.
Of course there are wonderful dragons, (what Chinese festival would not have dragons
which are a potent symbol of power, strength and good luck, and then there were the signs of the Chinese Zodiac, (which unfortunately also labelled the traits of them and if everything is to be believed I'm not a very nice person)-I'm a Snake { Usually, people regard snake as a cunning and sly animal, which likes hanging out in darkness. In fact, this animal is also a symbol of wisdom and wit. Therefore, people in this sign are calm, sensitive and humorous, and most of them are gifted in literature and art, such as Goethe and Picasso. Suspicion is their weakness, which makes them hesitant and a bit paranoid. Strengths Soft-spoken, humorous, sympathetic, determined, passionate, smart Weaknesses Jealous, suspicious, sly, fickle, nonchalant} this was one of the nicer descriptions that I found when looking online, so I'm taking it LOL, much better than being dark, mean and malevolent although I may have one or two of those traits too!!!!
There is entertainment (but choose your night wisely) we had a lovely woman, doing some magic, but on other nights there are dancers and acrobats (unfortunately we missed out on those) which would only add to the cultural experience. I would love to have seen more performers, and I understand that we went on a week night and therefore the organizers may have thought that having other entertainers was too expensive, but the event is only on for a limited time and if you are advertising that it is a cultural experience then please let me experience that culture!!!)
Food was also an issue, again it could have been an unfortunate choice of nights for us, but the food trucks had Mexican, burgers and ice-cream, and in all honesty with the music playing and the amazing lanterns on display I was hoping for something a little more authentic in the food department. Surely there are food trucks that have Chinese foods -and I'm not talking the fried dims sims that the burger truck had to offer. (The Chinese restaurant on the way home The Shark Fin Inn got our business instead with a fabulous late night dinner and lunch for tomorrow)
All in all, a wonderful night which has made me seriously want to get on a plane and travel somewhere...anywhere....although the Sichuan Province of China sounds very very appealing at the moment.