The 2018 Hsinchu County Hakka Arts Festival kicked off at New Tile House Hakka Cultural District on the afternoon of October 13. Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun showed that this year's Hakka Arts Festival "established links with the local and the international." Twenty domestic and foreign groups were invited to perform at the festival, and various activities, including traditional Hakka performances, Hakka folkgames, a cultural and creative market, concerts, flash mob performances, and an evening dance party, were being held.
At 2 p.m., Corny Chicken Theatre, Riverbank Dance, National Taiwan College of Performing Arts, and Hakka Martial Arts Lion Dance Association surprised visitors through a series of flash mob performances taking place in the woods, by the fence, and in the small lane of the Hakka Cultural District. On the other hand, Tien Wu Beiguan Bayin Troupe and Hsinchu County Hakka Lion Dance Troupe performed at a specific time and location. The former played traditional Hakka Beiguan music, while the latter performed the Hakka Lion dance, reminding people of the splendor of Hakka festivals in the old days. At 3:30 p.m., a concert featuring dance and music performances from Jumeng Dance Troupe, Hsinchu Winds, and Hsinchu County Saxophone Band brought visitors a special Hakka festival. Moreover, fun DIY activities including persimmon dyeing, paper making, and screen printing were available for all visitors to enjoy at the venue.
At 6:30 p.m., the evening dance party began with the splendid performance from New Tile House Folk Drum Troupe and Yangin Choir. Then, YOSAKOI, a team from Japan's Asahi Shokuhin Company, performed a traditional Japanese dance. YOSAKOI had won the championship of Kochi Prefecture's Yosakoi Festival in 2017. All of the team members were female. Wearing veils and holding naruko, a kind of wooden clappers, they showed purity, charms, and beauty of kochi's women through graceful dance movements. During their performance, they also invited visitors to dance with them, which showed our close friendship with Japanese people.
After the Japanese dance performance, local groups, such as Hakka Martial Arts Lion Dance Association, National Taiwan College of Performing Arts, Tzeng Ya-chun and students from Beipu Junior High School, took turns performing on the stage. Then, Sun Son Theatre presented a percussion performance and invited visitors to play percussion instruments on the stage. In the end, Jumeng Dance Troupe marked a perfect ending for the 2018 Hakka Arts Festival with a wonderful performance.