Benalla Migrants Association president Puna Gunaratne with red packets and lions at Benalla's Town Hall celebrating Lunar New Year.
The Year of the Fire Horse was celebrated by the Benalla Migrants Association with a traditional, and acrobatic, lion dance.
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The event took place at Benalla’s Town Hall on Saturday, February 28.
For the third consecutive year, the lunchtime event was organised by BMA’s committee and volunteers.
The event opened with a spectacular performance by the Bendigo Chinese Association Lion Dancers.
The energetic performance featured drummers and percussion moving with the two lions as they entered from Nunn St and moved through the crowd to the front of the town hall.
The BMA Kids Dance Group then took to the stage to perform a beautiful folk fan dance.
The dance was developed with the guidance of a Chinese dance specialist from Melbourne.
The dance featured seven local children who had been training over the past six weeks.
Attendees also enjoyed a catered lunch of noodles, dumplings and spring rolls.
Attendees answer trivia questions at Benalla Migrants Association’s Lunar New Year celebrations.
Fruit platters from Ruby Blue were devoured after the event for a sweet touch to the meal, and traditional new year treats including Kuih Kapit were provided for guests to enjoy throughout the event.
Guests were invited to visit PohPoh's (Grandmother’s) lounge room and hang their new year wishes on BMA’s golden tree, a labour of love crafted by BMA volunteers and a touching tradition that continues to grow with the event each year.
BMA kids worked together to perform a dragon dance with the longest paper dragon in the north-east.
They were rewarded for their creative teamwork with the gift of a red packet from BMA president Puna Gunaratne.
“We measure our wealth by the connections we create and every year, this event grows along with our community,” Cr Gunaratne said.
“I hope that in the Year of the Fire Horse, prosperity arrives for everyone very quickly.”
Attendees had a great time celebrating the Lunar New Year at Benalla Town Hall on Saturday, February 28.
Every child in attendance was offered a red packet from BMA’s president in exchange for a Lunar New Year greeting, and Cr Gunaratne received lots of heartwarming greetings in the exchanges.
The success of the event was made possible by the tireless work of the BMA organising team.
“Special thanks go to Dr Upul Abeykoon and Akhila Fernando from the North East Sri Lankans Association for their generous volunteer contributions on the day,” Cr Gunaratne said.
The BMA children also received well-deserved recognition, not only for their outstanding fan dance performance but for their enthusiastic hands-on help in preparing the event, keeping the community spirit alive from start to finish.
“Lunar New Year is an uplifting event for our committee,” Cr Gunaratne said.
“We are learning from thousands of years of other groups of people around the world who have organised their own celebrations to bring in the new year.
“We look forward to many future celebrations with the community in Benalla as we continue to develop.”
If you are interested in joining or supporting BMA, please get in touch via info@benallamigrants.org.au or through its Facebook page @BenallaMigrantsAssociation.
“Gong hei fat choi (wishing you prosperity and wealth) from the Benalla Migrants Association,” Cr Gunaratne said.
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