Last night we went to the annual Auckland Chinese Lantern Festival, a yearly celebration of Chinese New Year held in Albert Park in Auckland City. It's a mad house there, tens of thousands of people crammed together on a hot Summer night all vying to get a good look at the hundreds of amazing lanterns strewn all over the park and queuing up at the food stalls for great chinese food.
The festival gets larger and larger every year and finding a parking place within walking distance is a real challenge, but we go anyway, and this year especially since we've gotten into photography in a very big way since the last one and we really enjoy night photography, so this was a chance to hone our skills.
Night photography requires a tripod, of course, and setting up in the midst of all those bodies was a challenge, but that's all part of the experience and we managed quite well. This is the Year of the Ox, so lots of Oxen on display. Many of the lanterns are brought in from China and assembled here. Not sure if this is the biggest lantern festival in the southern hemisphere but I would imagine it is.
In addition to the lanterns and the food stalls there's lots of live entertainment, lion dancers, dragon dancers, martial arts, singing, everything you would expect. We're usually not much on festivals, but this one is a must. It never disappoints, and this year was no exception.
Auckland is a very diverse city, a polyglot at all times, and it's great to hear so many languages spoken and cultures celebrated throughout the year. If you ever get a chance to visit in Summer, the Lantern Festival is a must event.
