Annual Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance Festival

Sacred Spaces will attend yet another Tai Hang Fire Dragon Festival. According to the Tai Hong Dragon Festival Website (http://www.taihangfiredragon.hk):

"When the people of Tai Hang village miraculously stopped a plague with a fire dragon dance in the 19th century, they inadvertently launched a tradition that has since become part of China's official intangible cultural heritage.

Tai Hang may no longer be a village, but its locals still recreate the fiery ancient ritual today with a whopping 300 performers, 72,000 incense sticks, and a 67-meter dragon. The head of this beast alone weighs 48kg, so it’s not a creature to be taken lightly! The commemorative performance wends its way in fire, smoke and festive fury through the back streets of Tai Hang over three moon-fuelled days.

大 坑 火 龍一連三天，近300人舞動著長達67公尺、插上逾萬枝線香的火龍飛舞，煞是壯觀！意想不到的是，這項有逾百年歷史的舞火龍習俗，就在銅鑼灣繁華的購物區附近展開！一片鑼鼓聲中，火龍穿梭大坑一帶的大街小巷，頓時煙香繚繞、火光閃爍，充滿生氣！

這道香港獨有的美麗風景，源於19世紀居民為求消除瘟疫而起，如今更成為國家級非物質文化遺產。"

...and there are some pictures from our group last year

...and check out my video from a few years back. You can see how the dragon totally snuck up on me "ninja" style!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LeYnEOw9eI

Below you'll see three basic categories of participation. Kindly think about what category you'd most likely join so I can organize you properly to maximize your fun potential. The number of hours indicates a rough estimate of how long you should expect to be in place once you're situated. It will very difficult, if not impossible, to move around once the Police lock their cordons off to let the Dragon roam free. Foresight, in this case, will make all the difference...

• Casual Observer (1-2 hrs)

• Interested (2-3 hrs)

• Shutterbug (3 hrs plus)

I'll get everyone situation in a location based on the above categories. I'm sure we'll lose track of each other quickly but that's okay because it's going to be a lot of fun. My main job will be getting you all there and situated so you'll have the best view. Don't worry, once we get there you can sit back and enjoy the evening. You'll also notice that this event will attract huge numbers. Don't be concerned as for this event the more the merrier.