After 2023’s resounding success, we grew this year’s event – doubling the size – bringing in new and wonderful local vendors, food trucks, workshops, and adventures for all guests. A symbol of good fortune and prosperity, this year’s zodiac, the Dragon, is celebrated for ruling the weather and fruitful harvest (Duncan, C. (February 9, 2024) Why is the Year of the Dragon Considered So Lucky? Smithsonian Magazine). Garden visitors were treated to a dry and welcoming February weekend filled with celebratory festivities. The year of the Dragon, at UBC Botanical Garden, was a vibrant celebration of culture, community, and tradition. The market brought together people from diverse backgrounds to usher in the Year of the Dragon, an opportunity to create joyful memories, and excitement in what is sure to be a fruitful year.
Visitors were greeted by tantalizing aromas, a bevy of excellent wares, exciting workshops, and of course, the beauty of UBC Botanical Garden’s Asian Garden. Entertainment abounded with lively performances from UBC Kung Fu Club, including lion dances, drumming, acrobatic sword displays, and captivating Kung Fu performances. Guests delighted in interactive activities such as calligraphy, dumpling and light-stand engraving workshops, as well as craft-making, story-time, Mahjong instruction and Cantonese language lessons. This event brought many together fostering a sense of cultural appreciation and creativity.
Throughout the day, the Garden was alive with laughter and chatter as families and friends gathered to share meals, exchange gifts, and partake in age-old customs believed to bring luck and blessings for the year ahead. The Garden was delighted to greet guests with a hot cup of Tealeaves tea while they perused local vendors wares, while Friends of the Gardens volunteers entertained both young and old with their lively dragon puppets! There was something for everyone to enjoy and participate in, fostering a sense of unity and camaraderie.
As the sun lowered, guests meandered their way through our large Asian Garden, taking time to stop and enjoy the Garden’s collection of plants, all intermingled within familiar cedar and strikingly large fir trees, and the whimsy of celebratory decorations at the moon-gate tunnel. With hearts full of joy and bellies full of delicious food and hands filled with treasures, visitors bid farewell to the Lunar New Year market, carrying with them cherished memories of a truly unforgettable celebration in the heart of UBC Botanical Garden.
We thank all vendors and performers for participating in our second Lunar New Year Market. Additionally, we would like to thank our media sponsor, Daily Hive Vancouver for sponsoring this event. We are enormously proud of how it turned out.
