With plenty of noise, colour and drama, Chinese New Year celebrations got under way in Durham this weekend and families crowded the streets to enjoy them.
A traditional Lion Dance, accompanied by rousing drum beats, set the mood in Millennium Place outside Gala Theatre on Saturday followed by a procession through the city streets.
Despite the drizzle and winter chill, residents and visitors turned out to line the route and take part in a variety of activities that made the start of the year of the tiger a roaring success.
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The 12.30pm Lion Dance - joined by pupils from Langley Moor Primary School with their own lion dance performance - set the mood and incuded a tradition of throwing a 'lucky lettuce' which was caught by the Mayor Arnie Simpson, heralding prosperity for the city for the coming year.
There were celebrations of Chinese culture inside Clayport Library near the theatre as well as the Town Hall in the Market Place where more onlookers gathered to enjoy the next stop of the Lion Dance parade.
Jo Lacey had travelled in with 11-year-old son Joseph from Lanchester to watch the spectacle for the first time and they were thoroughly enjoying it.
"It's brilliant," she said. "It started to rain - but it's been worth it.
"We're going to the Town Hall now to see what's going on there."
Just arriving to do the same, and watch the action in the square, was Maxine Joyce-Gibbons in a family group of five who often come from the outskirts of Durham to attend the city's events and said they welcomed their return after last year's cancellation.
Those who missed the opening Lion Dances, staged by Newcastle's Oceans Apart Kung Fu Club, were given other chances to see the dancers during a round trip which was set to see them make their way around the city with stops at Prince Bishops shopping centre and Elvet and Framwellgate Bridges before finally returning to the start point.
Anne Hummings from Langley Moor Primary School, who was handing out free fortune cookies to the crowd on Saturday, said she has been working with the young pupils on their Lion Dance and added: "They have worked so hard on it, including every day this year.
"They were amazing."
While Newcastle's Chinese New Year celebrations are again off this year, Durham's were making a comeback, following last year's pandemic cancellation, with a busy Lunar New Year programme that brought the city alive with sights and sounds.
The day's events included demonstrations and art and craft activities in the Town Hall, such as block print-making, paper-folding; Thai Chi and music while over in the library there were Chinese language taster sessions and stories.
Durham County Council leader Amanda Hopgood was delighted to welcome the return of the celebrations to the city, following an online version of them last year, and said it was "fantastic" to see people out enjoying themselves.
"It's wonderful," she said. "There's no substitute for being here in person."
The central Lion Dance was organised by Durham Markets whose managing director Colin Wilkes said: “It’s great to bring the Chinese New Year celebrations back into the heart of Durham, after having to miss last year.
"It’s quite a spectacle, a loud and bright performance, and with performances throughout the city centre everyone gets a good chance to enjoy it.”
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