More than 600 people have welcomed the Year of the Rooster with colourful demonstrations in Moray.
The town hall in Forres was packed yesterday while a mischievous lion danced through the crowd as it made its way onto the stage for Chinese New Year.
The Asian extravaganza was organised by the Shen Foundation to bring a flavour of the Far East to Moray.
Pupils from Anderson’s, Applegrove and Dallas primary schools and Forres Academy were among the audience who were curious to watch the traditional rhythmic dance.
Performers from Edinburgh-based Yee Hung Ga’s beat a large drum at the front of the hall while cymbals crashed to herald the beast’s arrival.
And the youngsters were stunned when the lion began its prowl to the stage from the back of the hall, taking many of them unawares.
The bravest of the children attempted to reach out and touch the sparkly golden costume, which is said to bring good luck.
The lion lunged over the youngsters sitting close to the aisle and scattered lettuce over them during the display.
Engrossed spectators meanwhile sampled flavours from the Orient that had been prepared especially for the display.
Youngsters also coloured in masks, practiced their calligraphy skills and held competitions against each other to see how many peas they could move using chopsticks.
After language lessons, many of them greeted each other by saying Gong Hey Fat Choy, the Cantonese translation for “happy new year”.
The festivities were scheduled to coincide with the time China would be celebrating the beginning of the new calendar.
Martin Forbes, one of the organisers from the Shen Foundation, was dressed in a traditional Chinese gown especially for the new year celebration.
He said: “It’s gone really well. We’re thrilled with how many people have come along to have a look at everything.
“We were expecting all the schoolchildren, but a lot of people have also come in off the street, which was really encouraging. It’s certainly proved very popular.”
