GEORGE TOWN: It may be Chinese New Year but for Penangites, it means a shared celebration and fun festive events to attend.
Wanting to experience the colourful performances and cuisine at the Chief Minister's Chinese New Year open house, Hayati Hussein, 69, and her neighbours were thrilled to witness the lion dance on stilts and cultural dance performances.
"My neighbours invited me along and it has been a wonderful experience. I love seeing the performances and the food is good too.
"I have eaten chapati, char koay teow and even appom. It is such a good array of food," she said at the open house held at Setia Spice Arena here in Bayan Lepas, Penang on Tuesday (Feb 17)
The housewife said that with Ramadan approaching, she is glad they could enjoy the festivities and food before fasting starts.
Sales coordinator SC Yeap, 49, said this was her second year at the open house.
"My favourite part is that although many of us are strangers, we line up together and sit with each other regardless of our background.
"Even if it is for a short while, it is nice to sit with strangers who are culturally different but here to enjoy the event together," she said.
Housewife K. Letchemi, 72, said she decided to head over to the open house to enjoy an array of local cuisine and watch the performances.
"I live nearby and enjoyed the festivities last year. This year, I told my husband we had to attend.
"For seniors like us, it is nice when there are events near our home, as otherwise we would not be able to witness such celebrations," she said.
The open house saw over 10,000 attendees that were treated to a spectacle of performances, which included lion dancers, a performance by the well-known 24 Festive Drums team from SMJK Phor Tay, the Penang modern dance group Euphoria and many other engaging performances.
The Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Ramli Ngah Talib and his wife, Toh Puan Datuk Raja Noora Ashikin Raja Abdullah were the guests of honour.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said this year's open house saw a mix of locals and tourists in attendance.
"The crowd has grown from previous years and it is nice to see everyone have a good time. It is nice to see people come together and enjoy themselves," he said.
