2017 Hsinchu County Hakka Folk Drum Arts Festival was officially launched at New Tile House Hakka Cultural District on October 7th. The eye-catching “Creative Carnival,” which was held at 4 p.m., consisted of 20 local and foreign performance groups, including Nebuta Bayashi musicians from Aomori, Yosakoi Dance Troupe from Kochi, The South Pacific Islands Performance Group, Chio-Tian Folk Drums & Art Troupe, FervorTaiwan, Ju-Meng Dance Troupe, and Riverbank Dance. Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun and Deputy Minister of Hakka Affairs Council Fan Zuo-ming also joined in the parade with folk drums in hands. “Folk Drum Arts Festival is one of the important Hakka festivals. I am grateful to Hakka Affairs Council for their support. In the future, we will keep engaging in the promotion of Hakka culture,” said Magistrate Chiu. Deputy Minister Fan also stated, “We hope more and more people could participate in the festival, and for sure, it won’t let visitors down.”
One of the performance groups in the Creative Carnival, FervorTaiwan, was the first Taiwanese professional group to claim a championship in a China’s talent show. Its name symbolizes the multiple peoples, cultures and customs in Taiwan, which have given birth to diverse artistic elements. Through the performers’ interpretation, the stories and arts of Taiwan were vividly presented to us. Besides, a troupe from Wen-shan Elementary School gave a lively “lion dance” performance, being able to rival its counterpart, a martial lion troupe from Qionglin Township. House Tien Beiguan Band, which had received an award for the preservation of traditional Hakka music from Ministry of Culture, and New Tile House Folk Drum Troupe were also in the parade, providing the visitors with a feast for ears and eyes.
In addition to the Creative Carnival, an award ceremony for Hakka Music Award was held. Yangin Choir, Robin Tseng, Wang Feng-zhu, and Lemon Luan were invited to sing Hakka songs. Along with a series of events about Hakka Folk Drum Arts Festival, many other events were also held at New Tile House Hakka Cultural District. It would definitely be a fruitful journey to come to New Tile House this autumn to attend such an international cultural event!