Boscombe was treated to an afternoon of celebrations this Saturday for the Chinese New Year. The event, which was organised by the Coastal BID, saw thousands of residents and visitors gather at the Sovereign Centre, joined by the Deputy Mayor of Bournemouth.

The area of Boscombe has a strong Asian community who treated attendees to a mixture of traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. Among the festivities, demonstrations of traditional dances such as the dragon dance, the lion dance, the Tai chi Fan and the Qipao dance were performed. Workshops were also held throughout the day, where guests had the opportunity to have their name translated from English to Chinese and receive a Chinese face mask colouring.

The 3-hour celebrations were very well attended, with residents and visitors from other towns joining together. The Deputy Mayor of Bournemouth, Lawrence Williams, was in attendance with his wife, the Deputy Mayoress.

One fortunate individual also walked away from the celebrations £8,888 richer as the event organisers, Bournemouth Coastal BID, announced the winners of the ’Lucky 8’ competition. In the lead up to the Chinese New Year celebrations, participants had to visit Boscombe businesses and collect stamps for their chance to win the lucky sum.

Paul Clarke, Chairman of the Coastal BID, said:

“Seeing the Boscombe community unite at the Chinese New Year celebrations showed exactly showed what Boscombe has to offer. Local businesses, Boscombe residents and visitors were given a real treat from all the performers on the day. The Coastal BID look forward to supporting more exciting events in the near future.”

For more information on the Coastal BID, visit https://coastalbid.co.uk/