The 34th annual Buddha Birthday Festival kicked off today with 1,000 school students from 13 primary and secondary schools located in South East Queensland and travelling from as far away as Coffs Harbour visiting for an accredited cultural school tour.
These tours of the festival are organised by the Chung Tian Chinese School of Queensland which has three campuses located at the Fo Guang Shan Chung Tian Temple, Brisbane City and in the Gold Coast.
During the past 20 years nearly 200,000 school students have partaken in a tour, enjoying an exciting and memorable Buddha Birthday experience.
Besides munching on a hot and delectable spring roll or enjoying a bowl of fried noodles there was a wide range of cuisines for the students to sample including partaking in a range of tea ceremonies from a traditional tea chan ceremony to enjoying some Hakka Ponded Tea or Taiwanese High Mountain Tea all served by a trained tea master.
Students learned how to properly hold a calligraphy pen and can practice this ancient form of writing that dates back to the 4th century BCE. There was also calligraphy painting for students to try.
Other sessions included students practicing the art of mindfulness by partaking in a meditation class conducted by a temple venerable and experience Tai Chi by a trained Tai Chi master.
Immersed in a cultural experience, the students awakened all five senses including touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste.
In all there was a wide range of 20 activities for the students to participate in, including Chinese Martial Arts Instruction, Face Painting, Diabolo Instruction, Creative Paper Folding, Chinese Lantern Making, Dragon Workshop, Japanese Origami Paper Folding Workshop, Light Clay-Dragon Workshop, Taiwanese Opera mask painting, Paper fan/umbrella painting, Brian Kerle Basketball clinics and Taiwanese Folk Dance.
What is often the most favourite and the noisiest is the Chinese Lion Dancing and drumming classes conducted by the Shaolin Kung Fu Guan Martial Arts School.
Over the weekend, activities for children continue with most of the above events run by the Chinese School including children’s storytelling, a range of children activities run by the Buddha’s Light Scouts Group with a Baby Blessing for over a 100 bubs and toddlers Sunday morning at 10:00am.
The Buddha Birthday Festival is an accessible friendly event and runs as an accredited climate friendly event. Visitors are welcome to leave their worries behind, find their inner-peace and experience a fun and joyful time with family and friends at the 2024 Buddha Birthday Festival.
Opening times:
Saturday May 04: 9:00am – 9:00pm
Sunday May 05: 9:00am – 5:00pm
