13 January 2023
A festival to celebrate and promote Asian culture in Jersey is being launched on Sunday 22
January to mark the start of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit.
The Jersey Lunar New Year Festival will start with an opening ceremony in the Central Market,
from 12 until 4pm on Sunday 22 January. It will include a traditional dragon and lion dance,
an Asian food festival, a student choir, and Cambodian dance. Throughout the festival, which
runs until Sunday, 5 February, there will be food markets with music and entertainment, in school lessons on Chinese language and culture, Asian art, food and cultural demonstrations,
talks, workshops and a photographic exhibition at Jersey Library.
Victoria Li, the main festival organiser, said: “This is a great chance for Islanders to find out a
little more about Asian culture, and to understand the importance of the lunar new year to
the 1.5 billion people who celebrate it around the world. We will also encourage children and
their parents to discover more by giving them ‘passports’ to the different events which are
happening.
“In addition, the festival will offer Jersey retailers and other stakeholders opportunities to
enhance their businesses and community interests, and it will be used by Government to
develop international relations.”
A full list of all the public events, some of which require tickets, can be found at
gov.je/LunarNewYear.
Jersey’s Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, Deputy Kirsten
Morel said: “ This is a great opportunity to celebrate our Island’s Asian community with a
fantastic programme of events.My ambition is for the Jersey Lunar New Year Festival to
become an annual event, and a model for similar celebrations of our Island’s many
communities. ”
gov.je