2011 Kaohsiung Lantern Festival / 2011高雄燈會藝術節
2011 Kaohsiung Lantern Festival
◎English Written by Lin Da-wei
◎Photos by Chang Jhong-yi, Pao Chung-hui
Lantern Festival marks the end of Chinese New Year and is celebrated throughout Taiwan. Each year, large festivals are hosted in three cities, including Kaohsiung Lantern Festival, Taiwan Lantern Festival (hosted by a different city every year) and Taipei Lantern Festival. Each city's festival has its own individuality, characteristics and charm. Kaohsiung's Lantern Festival began in 2001 and is famous for its romantic atmosphere along the Love River, outdoor displays and celebrations steeped in light and color. It is reputedly the city's most colorful and important festival. People come from all over Taiwan to see the lanterns and various cultural shows presented by Kaohsiung's sister cities in the U.S., Japan, and Korea.
This year's Lantern Festival theme was "A Century of Happiness: The Rabbit Leaps to Prosperity". This was selected to reflect Kaohsiung's new era with a city and county merge. Mayor Chen Chu feels the merge was certainly a significant historical event and has witnessed an increased sense of pride and belonging amongst the people. She is proud to be leading this new super city through economic transformation and development, bringing great prosperity to the region.
This year's lantern festival opened with a phenomenal firework show, which included fireworks in the shape of rabbits and a 500 meters firework wreath that lined the full length of the port. The explosion of color and shapes were highlighted by a dynamic dancing water show. The audience was truly impressed by the magnificent spectacle. From February 23 to 28, a special firework show called Glorious Blossom was also presented.
The seventeen day festival hosted lantern displays from February 12 to 28 and was organized into various themes, including outdoor markets and love Pier market. There were also several performances each day, such as the aerial-acrobatics over water and a carnival parade. Another popular highlight was the free rabbit, mini-hand lantern that could also be used as a headlight, with a distribution of sixty-thousand.
The centerpiece lantern featured two rabbits dressed to resemble folklore characters, one designed to look like Third Prince and the other clad in a period military uniform that usually appears in parades called Song Jiang Battle Array. These characters were named Prince Kao and General Hsiung. Standing 15 meters high and 12.4 meters wide, it was constructed entirely from environmentally friendly materials and lit up the banks of Love River every night. Three kilometers of the Love River were also lit up on both sides with multi-colored LED lights. This glittering masterpiece was symbolic of Kaohsiung's colorful hospitality and welcoming spirit.
This year's lantern festival was the biggest to date. Exhibitions could be enjoyed at Glory Pier, Love Pier and both sides of the Love River. Gangshan Riverside Park also hosted a lantern venue for the first time. This was also the first year a lantern installation was displayed at the art gallery and featured lanterns made by artisans from ten countries. The 2011 Kaohsiung Lantern Festival was surely an unforgettable experience for the young and old alike.
2011高雄燈會藝術節
◎文／林大維 ◎攝影／張忠義．鮑忠暉
邁入第十一屆的高雄燈會，與台灣燈會、台北燈節並稱台灣三大燈會。而高雄因為有愛河流貫市區，特殊的親水條件，高雄燈會更添浪漫風情，也格外迷人。
自2001年起，愛河畔的高雄燈會成了高雄市最美麗的傳統，更是高雄每年最重要的節慶活動。除了國人的熱烈參與，來自美、日、韓等多個姊妹市代表均到場共襄盛舉，與燈會兼具本土、國際的展演活動相映成輝。
今年高雄燈會的主題為「百年好合兔躍高昇」，象徵縣市合併邁入新紀元，市長陳菊表示，高雄市民的光榮感與認同度不斷上升，越來越多人以高雄為榮，縣市合併是地方自治史上的大事，期待合併後的高雄經濟轉型、產業發展，讓高雄更加繁榮進步。高雄燈會藝術節一開場，空中綻放兔形煙火，接著是全台唯一、全長500公尺的環港煙火秀點亮高雄夜空，變化多端的煙花結合立體動感水舞秀，現場民眾驚喜連連，歡呼聲不斷。
為期17天的高雄燈會藝術節，自2月12日至2月28日，每天都有精彩節目毫無冷場。從樂舞藝陣嘉年華、水上高空特技、到各式特色燈區和真愛特區展售，目不暇給的展演成為吸睛焦點。
而為響應環保，特別規劃水上雙兔燈座，高15米、寬12.4米的裝置藝術，其裝扮結合高雄在地特色的電音三太子及宋江陣，分別取名為「高太子」及「雄元帥」，夜晚照亮愛河河面。愛河畔兩邊佈置長達約三公里的LED燈，一直延伸到七賢橋、中正橋，入夜之後，閃閃燈河流洩出高雄人對訪客們的熱情。
今年高雄燈會場域橫跨光榮碼頭、真愛碼頭、愛河兩岸，並首度增設岡山河堤公園，規模為歷年之最；而「光藝術廊道」展出十國文化燈飾，更展現河岸文藝風情。
歡慶元宵除了璀璨耀眼的燈火外，另一個矚目焦點則是燈會最搶手的小提燈，今年總計發送6萬盞「高耀兔」頭戴燈，最後六天更在愛河流域加碼演出「夢幻火花、遍地開花，」高雄燈會帶給所有的大朋友、小朋友最難忘的元宵假期。