Lanterns light up heritage city
(September 15th, 2008)GEORGE TOWN: The car park of the Penang Chinese Town Hall here was turned into a lighted wonderland with some 30 colourful lanterns of all shapes and sizes last night in conjunction with the mid-Autumn Festival.
The lanterns came in the form of dragons made from styrofoam, owl made from feathers and traditional lantern made from mooncakes.
One of the lantern-making competition participant Nyiau Soo How, 33, said he took four months to complete his styrofoam dragon lantern.
Colourful festival: Tan Choon Leng and daughter Emily admiring the brightly lit lanterns outside the Penang Chinese Town Hall last night.
“I enjoy being part of the celebration every year,” he said.
Jointly organised by the state government and Penang Chinese Town Hall, the celebration was aimed at preserving the traditional festival while providing a chance for family get-together.
The celebration started with a welcoming dance by Phor Tay School Association, followed by traditional dance, 24 seasonal drum and performances from local singers.
Penang Chinese Town Hall education section chief officer Tan Sim Chye said the committee hoped to see Penang celebrating the festival in a bigger scale just like the one in China.
About 1,000 people thronged the hall to watch the performance.