CHESTER LUNAR NEW YEAR 2025
Do you want to join me, in making a difference?
I am the chairperson and founder of Wah Lei Chinese Association, a registered charity.
- Wah Lei needs to raise more money to help us to produce the Chester Lunar New Year festival 2025.
- We have to raise £5000 to help us to produce the annual festival in the Year of the Snake 2025 in Chester city centre and every donation will help.
- The projected total cost of the festival is £5700.
- Wah Lei has been offered £700 from the Chester council’s festival fund.
- We need to raise £5000 to pay for:-
- Phase 1 - The lions, dragons, martial arts performances and the professional services to deliver the parade through the streets of Chester city center;
- Children and adults are welcome to dress up in traditional costumes to join in the festival parade.
- Phase 2 - Martial arts, traditional and progressive musical performances inside the Town Hall.
- the indoor event includes enabling adults and children to wear the special costumes attributed to Chinese cultural characters and for participants to take their own photographs. They can also take photos with the lions, dragon and our volunteer cultural characters as well as our special guest Tai Chi Panda.
- We encourage audience participation in singing or to join in the craft workshops.
- Learn and write their Chinese zodiac signs in the calligraphy workshops.
The funds are needed to pay for the professional performances, Essential safety services including emergency first aid services, traffic management services, notices of temporary road closures, volunteers’ out of pocket expenses, craft workshop materials, potential venue hire, public address system hire, printing and promotion of the event, consumables and contingencies. We therefore have to raise £5000 to be able to produce and deliver a vibrant and safe public festival celebration.
- If we exceed the target of £5000, Wah Lei and its partners would use the funds to support the introduction of Tai Chi and Qigong lessons to schools or community groups working with partners where appropriate, such as Tai Chi Chuan which already hosts lessons in Handbridge.
- Should the total target not be achieved, our option is to cancel the street festival & parade but to produce the festival with an indoor celebration event.
Wah Lei is run entirely by volunteers and serves the Cheshire, Wirral and North Wales region. Founded in 2009 by Mia Tan in one classroom with volunteers trained to teach Mandarin to local children, we now have over 50 pupils . The Wah Lei Saturday school is based at the University of Chester, Parkgate campus.
Once again another 4 of our teenage pupils achieved grade A* in GCSE Mandarin language this year. Our tutor volunteers are provided with continuous training and development to enable them to teach Mandarin language and Chinese culture for pupils aged 6 to 16 years old from diverse backgrounds. Wah Lei has delivered the Chester’s Lunar New Year festival since 2010 including delivering the festival online during the 2020 and 2021 pandemic with our committed volunteers and pupils producing videos in isolation, of cultural performances and online workshops.
The Wah Lei is a community group registered with the Charity Commission.
The 2025 festival Is projected to cost £5700. We hope you will help support us with a donation of any size, share our cause with your contacts and join us with your family and friends on the 1st February 2025 to celebrate the Lunar New Year, in the year of the Snake.
Past activities include -
- Wah Lei working in partnership with the council and businesses in the past 14 years that support and enable community cohesion and promote inclusiveness in our society.
- Corporate sponsors are offered opportunities to encourage staff volunteers to be part of the festival delivery team. They are included on promotional material.
- Chester’s Lunar New Year festival is one of the most significant celebrations in the calendar that enables public participation, promotes Chester’s economic competitiveness in the North West.
- Provides opportunities for volunteering for many people from all backgrounds. Find out more about our mission and our work on the Wah Lei Facebook page.
Contact Us on Facebook or for more information please leave a message for the Chairperson Mia Tan on 01244 400730 at the Unity Centre.
Thank you so much in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to Chester’s community.
Mia Tan
Chair Person
Wah Lei Chinese Association
Unity Centre
17 Cuppin Street
CH1 2BN
Tel- 01244 400730
Organizer
RLM Tan
Organizer
England
WAH LEI
Beneficiary