Bid to Save New Year Festival

By Frank Neill

The Lion Dance, one of the features of the Lunar New Year Festival.

Wellington City Councillor Ray Chung is taking steps to save the highly popular Chinese New Year Festival.

That includes an offer that he will front up with $10,000 towards the cost of the festival himself.

Cr Chung’s offer came the day after “The Post” reported that the Lunar New Year festival would not go ahead next year because the organisers, the Asian Events Trust, has been unable to secure funding.

Next year “is a very important year for Asians because it is the year of the dragon,” Cr Chung says.

“The year of the dragon is the most important year on the Chinese calendar and I was

disappointed that this year we will not be having the celebration.”

Because of this, he says, he is working with Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau in a bid to secure

more money for the 2024 event.

Currently the council has said that it will provide $10,000 towards the festival from its Events

Fund.

That compares with an average of $45,000 that the council has provided in previous years.

It also compared with the $150,000 the council provided for a fireworks display to celebrate

Matariki, the Wharangi/Onslow-Western Ward Councillor says.

“How come we put that amount of money - $150,000 - into the Māori initiative and only $10,000 into the [Chinese] New Year festival?”

Chinese people make up a significant percentage of the population, and “we need to make sure that we treat everyone fairly.

“So I’m putting up $10,000.

“Not only am I trying to get some money from council, but I will chuck my money into it as well.”

In addition, Cr Chung has begun talking to embassies and to businesses in a bid to get sponsorship for the Lunar New Year Festival.

“I am optimistic that there are organisations that will support it,” Cr Chung says.

Chinese New Year 2024 will be celebrated on Saturday 10 February.