Chinese New Year celebration draws a crowd

Colour, fire and food made for exciting Chinese New Year celebrations at the Bunbury Trotting Club on Saturday night with thousands of people through the front gates.

There was Chinese lion dancing, fire twirlers, a fashion parade, chopstick challenges, kung fu demonstrations, a Gangnam Style dance competition as well as an array of food stalls.

The evening, which ran alongside the night’s racing, was organised by the trotting club and the Bunbury Multicultural Group to welcome in the Year of the Snake.

Members of Bunbury’s Chinese community took part in organising the event and were thrilled with the 3000-plus crowd.

Committee member Lalaine Parnham said the event continued to grow, with more people attending the event then last year.

Bunbury Multicultural Group member Shamara Williams said it was wonderful to see Bunbury’s Chinese and south-east Asian community at the event alongside people from a variety of cultures.

“We hope that this partnership between the organisations will ensure the event will continue to grow to give the Chinese community the opportunity to celebrate a cultural festival while sharing it with their family and friends in the Bunbury community, ” she said.

See more pictures from Chinese New Year in this Thursday’s South Western Times