Bankstown was awash with colour, cuisine and culture, as more than 10,000 revellers indulged in Council’s fourth annual Lunar New Year festival, held in the Bankstown CBD.

Extended to run over two-dates in early February for the first time ever, festival-goers were entertained with the non-stop activities. The rain may have fallen but community spirits soared as Bankstown successfully hailed in the Year of the Tiger.

During the twilight Friday event revellers enjoyed live entertainment, a night noodle market, free fortune telling and the main highlight, karaoke in twelve languages.

The celebrity MC, Anh Do, delighted crowds with his comedy routines, impromptu audience interviews and magic tricks in between dance and musical performances on the main stage.

New to the festival this year were the Chung cake making classes, where more 150 people learnt how to make the Vietnamese sticky rice cake.

The Lion Dance and cultural parade not only entertained the crowd but honoured the vivid traditions that form the basis of the annual Asian celebration. The God and Goddess of Fortune offered 'luck' to the crowd, handing out red envelopes filled with gold chocolate coins. The New Year Garden display, sponsored by Bunnings Warehouse and Bankstown Airport, proved popular once again, granting good luck and prosperity for all who visited.

Lunar New Year marks the beginning of the year on many Asian calendars. The festival is traditionally celebrated throughout Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Korea, among others. The first day of 2010’s Year of the Tiger fell on Tuesday 2 February.