Last Saturday, inner Georgetown roads were filled, not with cars/motors but with people from young to old. Most roads from Carnavon Street till somewhere Dewan Sri Pinang were close to make way for the largest Chinese New Year celebration in Penang.
The main stage of the event
Decorations (KOMTAR in the background)
There were more than 80 stalls displaying different cultural aspects of the Chinese and the food which is popular during each Chinese festival.
The 12 main cultures on display are
(I only managed to capture 11 of the 12 culture display boards. I wonder which one did I miss?!?)
Highlight of the event, Lion Dance on stilts. For the first time, I was only standing like a meter away from the lion dance performance. Great view but the sound of the drum is deafening.
(Does it look like from the Lion King movie?? - the lion king standing on the cliff looking down to the animal kingdom) Hehehe
Dragon dance
Say cheezzzeee..you are on camera!!!
Displays. "Rats" everywhere!! This item in the dimsum baskets cannot be eaten though 
Colourful items on sale.
Fruit carving & decorative items on display.
We didn’t buy any food from there because firstly, they were not cheap (Rm4-5 for a bowl of noodles) and secondly they were so many people that there isn’t a place to sit in sight.
So we ended up going to Tai Thong Cafe for char ho fun and dim sum. Some people say the food here used to taste better in the olden days but it loses its goodness now.
It has been a nice outing. Although the state celebration is held annually, this is only my first time witnessing it (which also marks the first time I’m back, settled down in Pg after 4 years in KL) There’s lots more photos I took but it’s too time-consuming to load all here. If you are interested to see more photos, click on the link below.
Anyone else was there? Any photos to share?
Wah, nice photos! Seems like even nicer than last year.. You didn’t go to Khoo Kongsi’s open house? For me that was the best (last year lah)
This year I had to give it a miss because I had to go back to Bukit Mertajam.. sigh what a wasted opportunity to tryout my new DSLR..
Comment by vkeong — February 20, 2008 @ 4:20 pm
Got open house? Hmm…I didn’t know that. Khoo Kongsi temple was not open on that celebration day but the I did walked past the surrounding area.
Yea, such event is a good place for photo-shoots. I was humbled by so many people there who have their big DSLRs and high-end cameras while I only had a point-and-shoot camera with me only. Haha..
Comment by buzzingbee — February 21, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
wow lovely photos!! so pai seh to say that despite being born and bred here in penang, i have never been to this CNY state celebration! i don’t really like ‘fighting’ my way through big crowds.. it looks really interesting though..maybe will go next year!
Comment by lingzie — February 23, 2008 @ 10:49 am
I know which picture u missed out d. The lunar 7. I got the picture of it over my blog but doesn’t look very nice though. cos too crowded d. I like all the photos u have taken. Very nice
Comment by Phei — February 24, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
=> lingzie
Yeah, although staying so long in Penang, this is my first time to a state celebration!! We went early, around 5pm and left around 9pm to avoid the night crowd. I usually get freaked out with big crowds too…but I didn’t want to miss the chance to shot some colourful photos
=> Phei
Ohhh…I didn’t see that Lunar 7 board wor!! Wasted…or else I would have a full collection of the 12 cultural event boards. I was there early..that’s why get to shot and shot without ‘fighting’ my way through the crowd.
Comment by buzzingbee — February 25, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
Thanks for all the comments on the photos. I enjoy photo-shooting a lot, but am still very much an amateur/beginner in this. Any tips on photography is very much appreciated. Thanks!!
Comment by buzzingbee — February 25, 2008 @ 1:36 pm
I was there for video shooting…great celebration!
Comment by Jian aka Cokeworld Citizen — February 29, 2008 @ 3:32 pm