In October, I posted a Quick WIP Round of my activities as spring shaped up to be a hectic season. With barely time to pick up a crochet hook, it's been slow going on my projects; however, the good news is that my hospital treatments seem to be working and it has been a joy to be able to increase my activity levels and enjoy some outings.One of those was the Moon Lantern Festival at Elder Park in Adelaide (part of the OzAsia Festival). The night was so balmy and the entire town turned out to participate. This is where I enjoyed a performance by Indonesian music group SambaSunda as the sun set over the River Torrens.
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| SambaSunda performing at Elder Park's famous rotunda. |
Just search for 'OzAsia' 'Adelaide Moon Lantern Festival' 'Elder Park' or '#moonlanternfestival' Enjoy!
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| Crowds enjoy SambaSunda with the city skyline in the background. |
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| Getting into the festival spirit. |
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| Three of the lanterns for the procession. |
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| More lanterns as the audience waits in anticipation. |
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| It was a picnic atmosphere with many families. |
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| Crowds are building across the river too. You can see the Memorial Drive tennis centre and The Adelaide Oval with its video screens. |
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| The focus is on the river and the footbridge from whence fireworks launch. A giant lotus blossom lantern is a centrepiece on the river. |
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| Crowds grab every vantage point, including the plaza and balconies of the Adelaide Festival Centre. |
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| Looking back from the Festival Centre, we could see that the park was jam-packed and more people were still arriving! |
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| A map of the site (from the official program): inadequate for wheelchair users because there were steps on one of the paths which were not included on the map–a mere detail to some but essential for anyone with mobility issues (or prams). I was not impressed. With so many people it was difficult to navigate because we couldn't see far in front of us. |
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| The OzAsia Festival is one of the more popular festivals of South Australia ("The Festival State") |
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| Moon Lantern Parade details. The parade was forced to take a different route than planned because there were too many people! |
I had been in the city that day and thought it would be good to go down and have a look and maybe sample some different Asian dishes for dinner but it seems everyone else had the same idea!
Consequently, many of the food vendors had sold out before the sun had even set! The density of the crowd was getting too much to manouevre a wheelchair or see much of the festival so in the interests of safety and a good feed, I decided to leave early for home and watch the rest of the festivities on the television!
I was very tired from being out most of the day so it was a relief to leave the throng and I was satisfied that I managed to get out and about to enjoy what I could of the festivities.
There are some spectacular night photos to be found online so do have a look!
Simon McMahon has posted a great little video which captures the atmosphere perfectly and will give you a taste of what the OzAsia Festival is all about.
On photo-sharing site SmugMug, member Tony has posted a slideshow with different views of the OzAsia Festival including the nightlife in the Night Noodle Market on the Festival Centre Plaza and some views of the musicians including a great shot of SambaSunda.
Thank you for visiting Lupey Loops and being patient with me during a longer wait than usual between posts.
I do enjoy visitors and catching up with you so always feel free to leave your thoughts and questions in the comments box below. I am especially keen to know about your own festival experiences.
Stay safe, have fun!
Links
McMahon, Simon, "Moon Lantern Festival", video (3'13"), Simon McMahon blog, 4 October 2015: http://www.simonmcmahon.com/video/moon-lantern-festival/SambaSunda: http://www.kapa-productions.com/sambasunda/
Tony-petelee, "OzAsia Fest 2015 - petelee", slideshow, Smugmug: https://petelee.smugmug.com/Tony/OzAsia-Fest-2015/i-Nx5FCJj
Related Posts on Lupey Loops
"A Quick WIP Round", 22 October 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/a-quick-wip-round.html
"Hooks, Needles & Nurses!", 23 July 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/07/hooks-needles-nurses.html
"Lost without Lists", 2 September 2015: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/lost-without-lists.html
The lanterns are incredible aren't they!!! What a really fun day out! xx
ReplyDeleteIt is always nice to get out and about. I love the way Adelaideans embrace arts, culture, good food and family lifestyles. The culture in Adelaide is unique.
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