On a humid Saturday afternoon, the Sydney suburb of Bankstown comes to life for the first time in many moons.
Locals arrive in droves for the council-organised lunar new year festival, dressed to the nines to celebrate the year of the tiger.
People walking through the lunar year festival in Bankstown
But reminders of the pandemic are still here, from masked attendees to signs urging people to social distance.
Kim Chi, owner of Huong Giang Kim Hoan Jewellers, is selling hand-crafted paper flower arrangements outside her stop. She says the celebration is a chance for the community to feel like things are going back to normal.
“Its not just about selling the flowers, I wanted to make them to create a nice atmosphere, to make everyone feel normal again, so we don’t have to think about the pandemic or Covid for once” she says.
Kim Chi, owner of Huong Giang Kim Hoan Jewellers
Chi’s business has suffered through the pandemic, shutting down multiple times due to lockdowns, but she says it’s time the community “moved on”.
She describes the lunar new year as “our first chance in a while to get together, to encourage each other to move on and accept what we have in life”.
L-R Eight-year-old Lilly, Pham and Christina Lee in matching outfits at the Lunar New Year markets
Prancing around in a bright yellow dress to mark the occasion, eight-year-old Lilly explains to Guardian Australia that lunar new year also brings the line dragon dance and big red envelopes full of money.
“I normally get around $50 to $100, and I think I will put it in my bank account to save it this year,” she says.
As locals mill about, drink bubble tea out of pouches and line up for the rides, Nine Doan says that after two years of Covid-affected celebrations, there is particular excitement this year.
Nine Doan drinking bubble tea
“Its really good to see the community together after two long years of essentially staying home,” Doan says.
“We’ve been disconnected from each other, it’s been weird. We’ve both been apart from each other and bonded more than ever. So lunar new year this year is a chance to say ‘hi’, have a fresh start and wash away everything from the previous year.”
Hiya Philips
Although a sense of trepidation hangs in the air, the festival is brightened by the fashion, with Hiya Philips and her friends coordinating their outfits.
Philips says the festival is both marker of the lunar new year and a chance for local diaspora communities to reconnect with their cultural roots.
“As a Vietnamese woman living overseas, it’s a chance for us to feel connected to our roots and our culture, and an opportunity to get together and remind us where we come from, and to hold on to it here in Australia,” she says.
Daniel Tran with a toy gun that he won at sideshow Alley
It’s a sentiment echoed by 11-year-old Andy Le, who says he feels more connected to his family and culture than when he was younger.
“When I was seven, I used to say, ‘God, I hate going to this place, my parents won’t let me do anything.’ Now, I understand it a lot more and feel connected to them through it,” Le says.
“And the fireworks are just a blessing, it’s like the air gets blown up, I love it.”
Decorations line the streets across Bankstown, and a grinning Van Phan explains, between deliveries, that he is glad some normalcy is being restored.
“I’m so happy to see this new year’s festival, its so good to see family celebrating again. I was upset in the beginning of the pandemic, but now I feel happy seeing things get back to normal.”
Eleven-year-old Andy Le
In a sidestreet away from the official festivities, a group of men in face masks watch an intense match of Chinese chess, each move deliberated and consequential.
Li, an onlooker, says everyone here is friends, and have gathered here after work . He says the festivities are great, but the “tension” of the pandemic lingers.
“We don’t have all our freedoms back, it still feels like the pandemic. It’s good to celebrate, but not everyone can join us.”
