The one day celebration was held last Saturday (20/02/10) around the George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site which consists of Acheen Street, Armenian Street, Cannon Street, Ah Quee Street, Soo Hong Lane, Chulia Street and Kampong Kolam. And of cos, such celebration should not be miss by us, so we grab our camera, ride down to George Town and enjoy the celebration.
It was a full scale celebration as there are both locals and foreigners flocked the area and as many as 13 stages were set up around the town which hold different cultural and heritage performances along the day. This year celebration touched mainly on the four Chinese core moral values which are 'Faithful, Filial Piety, Etiquette & Justice'.
The celebration was so big that it had to be separated and labeled as different area such as Faithful Area, Etiquette Area, Filial Piety Area, The old Penang Memory, Justice Area, The History of Clan House in Penang, Native Place Region, Wushu Area, Art and Culture Zone and Traditional Handicraft Zone. And each labeled area stand for it own name where the area will exhibit respective performance accordingly.
Faithful Area
Located where TeoChew Association is. We took this opportunity to visit TeoChew Association as it is open for public on that day. It is actually close for public as the building is something like a memorial area for ancestors of Chew I guess.
Filial Piety Area
Located just outside Lim Association. Stressed more on charity and doing good deed. So you can see alot of Tzu Chi stalls set up there to raise fund and of cos, I did some donation. :-) There are also a lot of exhibitions along the road to educate people on how to cultivate good karma by doing good deed and talk was carried out by Tzu Chi personnel.
Etiquette Area
This area was focus more on the teaching of Confucius. A stage was set up there just to play the story of Confucius. Besides that, there are well-wishing lanterns area where all the lanterns are tied with all the well-wishes.
Justice Area
Where the majestically 'Tua Pek Kong' is out for display to the public and he is giving out some sign that he is ready for the procession this coming Sunday. As well as the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (San Guo Yan Yi) is exhibited. The story is summarised into cartoon scripts which made easy for the people to understand rather than reading those 3 thick novels of the story. ps: I am reading it too.
The Old Penang Memory
Located in the compound of Cheah Kongsi. The stage put up a performance on how the old Penang people look like (old as in 80's). So please do expect those girls and guys with the big specs and 'karipap' hair. What really amazed me was to watch those people dance like in 80's by shaking their ass, chest and shoulder (like watching in the tv those Chinese 80's show, u know). Well, this make me imagined how my dad and mum dance the tune of 80's during the time they both are still dating each other..haha. Besides that, there are stalls set up by charitable body to raise fund such as doing wishing tree and selling 'Hapiness Candy'.
ps: Sing Chow, you know what I am talking bout. He apparently donated RM2 for the 'Hapiness Candy' (3 candies in a wrapping) and we when up to Cheah Kongsi and we saw Choy San (God of Prosperity) giving out to the people for free.
The History of Clan House in Penang
Located along Armenian Street. Where exhibition of different clan houses of Penang and their history such as the famous Khoo Kongsi, Yap Kongsi, Cheah Kongsi and many more.
Wushu Area
Of cos, wushu performance la...playing swords, striking spears, fighting with wooden chairs..bla bla bla
Native Place Region
Display on the culture and customs of Chinese. I mean typical Chinese culture and customs such as the tang yuan celebration, Pai Thi Kong and a lot of customs that I don't even know.
Well, I always tell my friends (not Penangnites) that coming to Penang is to eat, eat and eat. And of cos, one day celebration in Penang without hawkers' foods will not be a Penang celebration, right? So there you go, stretches of hawkers' foods lining up along the different streets specially cater for the people both locals and foreigners to have the taste of Penang.
There are also listless of performance being performed along the days of the celebration such as the chingay performance, lion dance, dragon dance, stilting performance, 88 drummers performance, 24 festive drums performance, Chinese orchestra, Chinese cultural show, Chinese opera mask changing, Chinese classic songs performance, Chinese oldies chorus, Malay kompang performance,.....well, I tell you what...I can't list down all because it will be super long if I do.
Do enjoy some of the pictures we took on the celebration.
Uncle busy showing of his skill in making rattan baskets
Banner for the named area
Inside TeoChew association
Again
Welcoming Arch
Dance according to the tune of 'Red Cliff'
The Story of Confucius
The 88 and 24 festive drummers
Opera Performance
Shirt printing via hand
Dance to the 80's tune
Wishing tree (He tried throwing almost 10++ times before he successfully 'stuck' his wish on the Wishing Tree)
Hapiness Candy which did not make SChow very happy thou...haha
Tua Pek Kong
Choy San giving out the 'Hapiness Candy' for FREE but we paid RM2 for it..now you know why SChow is not happy with the candy
Beautiful Khoo Kongsi at night
The celebration ended with the blasting colours of fireworks in the night sky of Penang. See ya in 2011.
