I love to fill life with events! It’s a great way to continuously have things to look forward to and if you tune into my radio show you’ll know I try and talk about an event every week (Burns night, valentines day, pancake day!!!). Coming up on 8th February is Chinese New Year which traditionally begins on the new moon between 21st January – 20th February and this year is the year of the monkey!!

At the weekend, on one of our family walks, we headed to Chiswick House and Grounds as we had never actually been there (shock, horror!!) and found the gardens full of giant artworks of various brightly coloured creatures and buildings.

From peacocks to ants, they are in fact huge lanterns that will be lit up to celebrate the ever popular lantern festival which marks the 15th day of the Chinese New Year. Every Tuesday through to Sunday from February 3rd to March 6th between 5pm and 8.45pm these beautiful lanterns will be illuminated to light up the pathways as you explore the wonders of the gardens. Guiding you on a moonlit and lamp lit walk, each lantern has been intricately designed to showcase the magic of art, structure and light whilst celebrating the culture through stage performances and international cuisines.

We were lucky enough to see some of the delicate lanterns being created with such care and creativity. This is definitely an event to put in the calendar for all the family and see life illuminated! Make sure you spot the monkeys!

Tickets can be bought in advance for a lesser price than on the door and can be purchased here – http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/artist/2188307  For more information visit http://www.chgt.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=595 or http://www.magicallantern.uk/

I will be talking about the event and Chinese New Year in general on my radio show THIS Thursday 28th January from 10am – 1pm. You can tune in online at www.wandsworthradio.com

Hope to see you there!

Lexie

xxx