Taipei City’s Department of Cultural Affairs unveiled two giant tiger balloons at Taipei City Hall yesterday, inviting residents to enjoy a “virtual” lantern show that will make up part of the events featured in the Lantern Festival on Feb 26.
The show will feature three “virtual lanterns” designed by visual artists, with high-tech projectors utilizing the exterior walls of Taipei City Hall as a screen and displaying their works every 30 minutes from 7pm to 11pm during the festival, which will run through March 7.
Lee Ming-dao (李明道), designer of the festival mascot, a tiger named Hoki (福氣), said the two giant Hoki balloons, with one standing in front of the city hall and the other peering down from the rooftop, will bring luck and serve as guardian angels to accompany residents in the Year of the Tiger.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen Kuan-fu (陳冠甫), deputy commissioner of the department, said the public would also have a chance to participate in the show, as the department will select head shots of 6,666 people and turn the photo collection into a large work of art to be projected onto the city hall’s walls.
The department will send photographers to four locations, including the plaza in front of the Vieshow movie theaters in Xinyi (信義) District, the plaza next to Shinkong Mitsukoshi Department Store’s Xinyi branch, Longshan Temple and the Red House in Ximending (西門町).
Those who are interested in seeing their photos projected on the city hall should visit any of the four locations between 1pm and 5pm on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17 to have a photo taken, Chen said.
Meanwhile, the city government will give out free handheld lanterns from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28 at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall starting at 2pm, and at Taipei City Hall on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.
Officials said an additional lantern would be given out free in exchange for two receipts dated between last month and this month.
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