The Sheffield Chinese Lunar New Year Festival welcomes the year of the dragon with a food festival at the Peace Gardens, a celebration show at the University of Sheffield’s Octagon Centre and more.
The five-day event, taking place from Friday 9th to Tuesday 13th February, is named Sheffield Chinese Lunar New Year Festival and is an inclusive celebration of the diversity in the city. The festival is spearheaded by Jerry Cheung, MD at New Era Development Ltd, and assisted by Kelvin Quick of China Red, among others, and brings Eastern culture to the heart of Sheffield with food, music and dragon dancing. Money raised throughout the festival will be used to change lives and support The Children’s Hospital Charity.
After last year’s event Jerry Cheung commented: “I have a very deep passion for community, and obviously, most of us have children in our lives that hold special places in our hearts.
“This event is about culture sharing, bringing communities together; about bringing people together; and at the same time, we’re able to raise money for a good cause.”
The Children’s Hospital Charity will once again mark the Lunar New Year this February by lighting up Sheffield Children’s Hospital with a 5-meter dragon. The celebrations will begin with the switch-on of the dragon display at Sheffield Children’s. The dragon is positioned on the hospital’s Outpatients Department, overlooking Clarkson Street, and will be illuminated on Friday 9th February.
The Dragon is possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of businesses, community groups and individuals from across the Sheffield region. Last year supporters raised over £13,000 through their sponsorship, and there is still time to sponsor the dragon this year.
Diane Jarvis, Head of Business Operations at Sheffield BID which is supporting the event, said: “We’re delighted to contribute to developing this festival by bringing a new outdoor element to this year’s programme with vibrant cultural activities in the Peace Garden. We’re particularly excited about the planned Dragon Parade on Sunday, 11 February. Extending the festival to attract thousands of visitors to the city centre is a fantastic boost to the city’s major events calendar. We have a great opportunity to build on this event over the coming years. Lunar Chinese New Year celebrations are legendary in other cities and Sheffield has the same ambition.”
On Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th over 35 stalls will take over the Peace Gardens for a free-entry food festival celebrating amazing cuisine, artisan products, traditional arts & crafts, and more. This is where the spectacular dragon dance performance will take place on Sunday and on Saturday they will be at Meadowhall. The Sheffield Chinese Lion Dance team will also be doing their annual street parade on Sunday 11th February from 12pm. starting at at Ages Ago BBQ & Bar, West One, Sheffield, S1 4JB. The Lion will journey from: West One > West St > Division St > Peace Gardens > The Moor > New Era Square > London Road. Route map can be found here.
For the evening of Saturday 10th February, a celebration show with traditional dragon dancing, extraordinary acrobats, enchanting music, and many more world class acts who have come all the way from China to grace the Octagon stage. This is a ticketed event which you can purchase here.
The celebrations will then culminate in a special dinner at China Red for sponsors of the Sheffield Children’s dragon and other key partners in the festival.
We will also be hiding traditional red envelopes across the city over the same dates with prizes inside from local independent East Asian businesses such as Yee Kwan Ice Cream, Guyshi, China Red, ALS Gong Cha, Oisoi, KH Oriental, Wokie Box etc. Maybe you’ll even find some cash!
Councillor Martin Smith, Chair of the Economic Skills and Development Committee at Sheffield City Council, said: “The Lunar New Year offers a great opportunity for the many diverse communities of Sheffield to come together and celebrate Chinese culture. The year of the Dragon symbolises good fortune, strength, and success which we all hope for, in this year and the years to come.
Martin McKervey, Chair of the Sheffield Property Association said: “The Sheffield Property Association is proud to support the Lunar Chinese New Year Festival. Sheffield is a city of inspiring culture. Every individual and every community in Sheffield thrives when culture and creativity is placed at the heart of the city’s strategic development. The Lunar Festival is important and timely as we celebrate the growing vibrancy in our city with the exciting developments in Heart of the City, Fargate, Castlegate and West Bar.”
Use code 'DRGN5' on the Veezu app for £5 off your next ride.
To find out more about the Sheffield Lunar Chinese New Year Festival visit: https://sheffieldchinesenewyear.com
To sponsor the dragon, visit tchc.org.uk/get-involved/lunar-new-year.