London's Chiswick House is hosting the Magic Lantern Festival for the second year running, from 19 January until 26 February. This year's festival employs a Silk Road theme, with life-sized and oversized lantern scenes displayed along a trail to highlight the significance of the trading route between the East and the West. To change up the event from last year, guests can experience the Eis Haus, a pop-up ice lounge featuring a real ice bar and après deck. Visitors will also be able try out a virtual experience, where they will don VR headsets, get comfortable in simulator chairs and select from a range of games to suit all ages.
Soy sauce brand Amoy staged an activation last year to celebrate its sponsorship of London's Chinese New Year Celebrations in Trafalgar Square. The brand created a consumer space, which featured a photobooth filled with themed props. An invite-only tent was also installed to host a special event for winners of a social media competition, members of the press and key Amoy customers who were served Chinese dishes, and offered face painting alongside other themed activities. Fuse Sport and Entertainment helped to deliver the activation.
Louis Vuitton unveiled a new exhibition and art collection designed to celebrate Chinese contemporary art in February 2016. The exhibition, called Bentu, Chinese artists in a time of turbulence and transformation, brought together 12 individuals from different generations, each of whom all reside in mainland China, and showcased their artwork. Some of the works were inspired by traditional Chinese culture, while others used more modern techniques.
Shopping destinations Westfield London and Westfield Stratford are to host a series of food-themed events to celebrate Chinese New Year this weekend (28-29 January). Guests will be able to attend hourly demonstrations that aim to teach a hands-on approach to preparing and cooking Chinese cuisine, with sessions led by chefs at restaurant Ping Pong, as well as cooking school L’atelier des Chefs. The sessions will teach how to make classic Chinese dishes such as dumplings and rice balls. The shopping centres have also brought in artist Prudence Staite, who will create a rooster using traditional Chinese 'nian huo' sweets. The artwork is on display from today (26 January).
Regent Street will be celebrating Chinese New Year by incorporating the ancient tradition of wishing trees, which are linked to good luck and fortune. People who hang their hopes for the coming year on the branches of the trees are said to have their dreams come true. Two bonsai trees will be displayed on Regent Street and passers-by are encouraged to pick a red envelope hanging from the trees for the chance to win a range of surprises from gift cards, bespoke gift sets and exclusive discounts across Regent Street’s premium stores, bars, restaurants and salons.
Comment below to let us know what you think.
For your daily hit of news from the brand experience community, weekly brand and inspiration updates or your monthly trend download, .