Newbury celebrates Chinese New year

NEWBURY was a sea of colour as the town celebrated the Chinese New Year last weekend.
Hundreds of shoppers who gathered in the Kennet Centre were treated to a range of activities and stalls selling Chinese crafts and jewellery, before the celebrations culminated with an impressive Chinese Lion performance.
Local dignitaries, including the Mayor and Mayoress of both Hungerford and Newbury, as well as the chairmen of West Berkshire Council and Greenham Parish Council, were among the bumper crowd who gathered to absorb the traditional display.
Waheeda Soomro, who organised the event in partnership with the local Chinese community, said: “It was great to have so many members of the Chinese community involved and it was so successful they have already started making plans for next year.
“In previous years, the event has been held at Newbury College and St Bartholomew’s School, but we wanted to hold it in a central location this time to allow even more people to enjoy it.”
Elsewhere in the town, children from the Rocking Horse Nursery, based at the Racecourse Newbury, also joined in with the celebrations.
The youngsters, who were all dressed up in Chinese clothing, were treated to a Chinese style lunch, made a dragons head and listened to traditional Chinese music.
Sheila Hamblin, who works at the nursery, said: “The children had a fantastic day and really enjoyed themselves. There was a great atmosphere.”
This year is the year of the horse.