The Lunar New Year has lost much of its traditional character over recent years, as community activities take a back seat to quiet family get-togethers around the television. The National Center for Traditional Arts (國立傳統藝術中心, NCFTA) has tried to put this right, and its efforts, if last year is anything to go by, has proven an enormous success with people fed up to the back teeth with interminable New Year variety shows. NCFTA organizers confidently expect this year, the Year of the Pig, with its nine-day holiday, to be an even greater success, and has planned accordingly.
The center, which serves as a preserver and promoter of traditional culture in Taiwan, has organized a full week of activities, starting out with a massive New Year's Eve party, will all the traditional trimmings. Sugared crab apples will be sold in the streets — a sweet now rarely seen — and the air will be filled with the music of Chinese orchestras. There will be savory snacks, street performers, DIY handicraft displays, and even low-stakes "games of chance," to help punters get into the spirit of the event. The party will run late: lanterns will be lit, the zodiac animal will be bombarded with firecrackers, and, somewhat less traditionally, there will be a countdown to the New Year.
While the party spirit will be at the forefront, NCFTA will not be forgetting its educational role, and many well-known local artists have been recruited to take a part, producing spring couplets in elegant calligraphy, or, in coordination with the Astonishing Metalworks in Taiwan exhibition, hosting demonstrations of their skills. This will even include demonstrations of smelting and a workshop for repairing old jewelry (Feb. 18 to Feb. 25).
Getting there: From Taipei, take a train to Luotung (羅東) and then get a taxi from the station to Tungshan Riverside Park (approx. NT$200 taxi fare). You can also take the Guokuang Intercity Bus (國光客運) bound for Nanfangao (南方澳) from the station and disembark at Chialiyuan Bridge (加禮遠橋), then walk (approx. 10 minutes)
Entry: Tickets are NT$150; NT$120 for groups over 20 persons
Open: Over the Lunar New Year, the NCTA (including the museum) will be open between 9am and 9pm.
(Regular opening hours 9am to 6pm)
Accommodation information is available at the NCTA Web site: www.ncfta.gov.tw/site/388/default.aspx
A full list of activities for the Lunar New Year is available at art.pcsc.com.tw/event_program.php
The event will also be used to show the enduring vitality of Taiwan's traditional arts. Pigsy Causes Trouble at the Peach Blossom Village (豬八戒大鬧桃花村) created by Lin Chuen-fa (林春發) and featuring the Ba-Liang Opera Troupe (八兩歌劇團), is a "creative" gezai opera that includes a children's dance troupe and plenty of pantomime (Feb. 18-23, 3pm). The Se Den Society Foundation (西田社布袋戲基金會), a traditional puppet troupe has adapted the Three Little Pigs to a glove puppet format (Feb. 18 through Feb. 23 daily at 11:30am and 4pm).
Even after the official holiday, the NCFTA will continue its New Year activities all the way through to the Lantern Festival on March 4, the traditional end of the Lunar New Year. There will be lantern riddles and a re-enactment of "capturing the canon," a long neglected part of the Lantern Festival celebrations. All through March, the NCFTA will play host to an array of martial arts formation performances, a look back on the tradition of local militias who once formed the basis of local security.
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