Winnipeg’s Chinese community will take over downtown streets this weekend for the eighth annual Chinatown Street Festival.
The festival starts Saturday at 1 p.m. and goes until Sunday evening.
“Every year since 2009, we get the opportunity to invite people from all over the city to celebrate our rich cultural heritage at our street festival,” said Dr. Joseph Du, the president of the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre, in a news release.
The festival originally started to celebrate the centennial of Chinatown, spokesperson Malinda Lee told CTV News.
"First and foremost, it's to share our culture. We want to share our Chinese Community with the rest of Manitoba, the rest of Winnipeg, and to bring people down to Chinatown," said Lee.
Several streets in Chinatown will be closed off for the weekend, including King Street between James Avenue and Alexander Avenue, as well as Rupert Avenue at King Street.
Saturday’s festivities feature cultural performances and a market running from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday evening, there will be a free screening of the movie “Kung Fu Panda” at 9 p.m.
Events also include martial arts performances, dancers, music, and kids activities, including a bouncy castle, petting zoo (Saturday only), and a traditional Chinese lantern riddle game.
All events are free of charge.
