Taipei Ready to Stage an Illuminating Event
Thousands of lanterns--some small and hand-held, some nearly five stories high and powered by electricity--will illuminate the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall grounds March 2 to 4 in Taipei, Taiwan, in a giant cultural festival.
The Taipei Lantern Festival, marking its 10th year, claims to draw about 2 million visitors annually. Besides the lantern display, there are acrobatic, music and folk-dance performances; demonstrations of traditional crafts such as calligraphy; and vendors selling lanterns and other handiwork.
The festival centerpiece, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, beginning Feb. 16 this year in the Chinese calendar, will be a lantern in the form of a rabbit nearly 50 feet high. At night, it will revolve in a laser and sound-and-light show.
The lanterns will be lighted from dusk to about midnight, but performances and other activities run all day. Entrance to the festival is free. For more information, call the Taiwan Visitors Assn., telephone (415) 989-8677.
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