10,000 people expected to attend this year's Lanterns on the Awa event in Whanganui

Dancers from Whanganui's Chinese community will be back performing for this year's Lanterns on the Awa festival. Photo / Gail Imhoff

As many as 10,000 people are expected to attend Lanterns on the Awa 2022 event as plans get finalised.

Lanterns on the Awa event planner and manager Kai Lim said the increase from the 7000 attendees last year was due to the success of the 2021 event and increased facilities planned for this year.

"For example last year we only had three food stalls, and we understand many people were frustrated because it was not enough," Lim said.

"This year, we will have close to 15 local food stalls with many different food choices, including Chinese."

The free event by New Zealand China Friendship Society's Whanganui branch has been confirmed for Saturday, September 3 and will be held in the carpark area beside the Tram Shed on Taupo Quay.

Lim said the event had gained the approval from Te Pou Tupua iwi to light paper lanterns and let them flow on the Whanganui River.

"We have 1000 wax-coated paper lanterns for people to purchase, light and put on the river, with Plumber Dan waiting upriver to catch them all so they don't just keep floating unattended.

"When you light paper lanterns on the river, the metaphor is all the bad things will go away with the lanterns, and good things will come," he said.

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said last year's event was a huge success, and the event was important in honouring the long-standing Chinese community in Whanganui.

"We've had a very active Chinese community here going back to the 19th Century, then of course the event honours our growing relationship with our sister city Lijiang," McDouall said.

"It's also just a great gloaming night in the middle of a cold dark period."

Lim said this year Lijiang was sending 300 brand new lanterns to support and decorate the event.

In return, there would be booklets handed out about Whanganui's sister city to raise awareness and strengthen the relationship between Whanganui and Lijiang.

Dancers from Whanganui's Chinese community performing at Lanterns on the Awa festival 2021. Photo / Milton Lister

He said the evening involved two performances of ancient Chinese instruments, the erhu, a two-stringed bowed instrument, and the guqin, a plucked seven-string instrument.

"Not many people know how to play them now, but we have two performers here in Whanganui who do, so the performances will be very special," Lim said.

The programme also involved dance performances by the Shirley McDouall School of Dance, Whanganui High School, Whanganui Collegiate, and a lion dance performed by Whanganui locals.

"There will also be three martial arts performances from Shaolin Kung Fu Association Whanganui, and storytelling by Wen Xiong using shadow puppets," Lim said.

Lim said last year he had only five and a half weeks to arrange the event.

"During that time I organised all the marketing, event organising, decorations and programmes and all the dancers from Whanganui's Chinese community jumped in to create the performances," he said.

"In total, we only managed to get $2500 of funding, so it was an unbelievable result."

He said it was estimated a turnout of 5000 people at one point, and potentially a total of 7000 over the course of the night.

"[For] this year, I started the planning in November with the event planned in May, but that got rescheduled due to Covid-19 level changes."

Lim had managed to bring in $10,000 of funding for the event.

He said sponsorship came from GDM Retail, Pacific Helmets, McDonald's Whanganui, Property Brokers Whanganui, GJ Gardner, The Dentists, GoFox Electrical, and Pak n Save.

"Whanganui & Partners are also supporting us with $6000 of funding to help us advertise the event, which we're hoping will help bring more regional visitors," Lim said.

"Council has been very supportive, putting in around $7500 of hardware and labour for an LED wall and stage, crews, audio and video system too.

"They are also paying Scafit Ltd to put up the structure to hang lanterns on the stage," he said.

"Now all we need is beautiful warm weather."

An additional LED screen will also be added to this year's festival by Speedy Signs Whanganui, playing live videos of the performances.

Lim said this was so people who couldn't see the stage, could still watch the performances on the screen.

"We also had a lantern-making programme at many Whanganui schools which they are encouraged to come and hang up on trees at the event."

Lim said next year this programme would be developed into a lantern-making competition.