New moon, new year

By Bridget Cook
SPRINGVALE was abuzz on Sunday for its annual Lunar New Year Festival.
Over 80,000 people flocked to Springvale to join in the celebrations and preparations for the Chinese New Year.
The festival, which has been run for 17 years by the Springvale Asian Business Association (SABA), attracts huge crowds and “just keeps getting bigger,” SABA president, Tom Huynh said.
This year there were more food and drink stalls than ever before to accommodate the growing crowd.
The day had a great carnival atmosphere with Chinese culture performances, the police band, kung-fu demonstrations, live bands, amusement rides, fortune tellers, and many more.
“A highlight of the event was the lion and dragon dances,” Mr Huynh said.
The festival, which ran from 9am to 10pm, kicks off the celebrations leading up to the Chinese New Year, but also helps to celebrate Australia Day as well.
“The day went very well because the weather was so good, and when it got to sunset more and more people came and crowded in,” Mr Huynh said.