HKVT19-02        Fire Dragon Dance – Mid-Autumn Festival    10 SEP 2019 - 14 SEP 2019 
Project The project is co-organized by VolTra, Fragrant Village and Ta Kwu Ling/Ping Che Alliance for “Saving Our Home” (Alliance).  
 
Mid-autumn festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month (13 SEP 2019). In the 19th century, villagers began performing a dragon dance to stop a run of bad luck afflicting their village. Accompanied by drummers and erupting firecrackers, The villagers made a huge dragon from straw and covered it with incense sticks. They danced for three days and three nights and the bad luck disappeared. More than a century later, their village has been all but swallowed up by Hong Kong’s fast-growing city. But the dragon keeps on dancing. It has even danced its way onto China’s third national list of intangible cultural heritage. The theme of the workcamp is to appreciate the importance of the local village and its culture. They are going to beautify the village, farming with local people and try the very traditional local food, and the most important thing to do is to set up the event of the Fire Dragon Dance during Mid-autumn Festival. [See the project: https://youtu.be/2yqJUnoo0gE] Activities 1. Assist villagers to organize the celebration of Fire Dragon Dance 2. Beautify or renovate the village’s roads and visitors’ centre 3. 

Assist in community liaison 

Accommodation Workcampers are accommodated in village house of visitors’ centre. The living environment is very basic and simplistic but in a friendly-neighborhood living style. Sleeping bags and mats are needed. 

Location In contrast to the densely populated areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, Ping Che is a suburban area characterized by natural scenery, charming small villages and stunning sunset. The place is also situated just next to Shenzhen, China. 

Extra Fee USD 150 per participant (Paid by cash on arrival) Remarks There are a few pet dogs living in the visitors’ centre. Workcamp activities involve largely outdoor physical work and immerse with local traditions. Local Organizer Fragrant Village manifests primarily as music and performance though it sometimes also takes published form. It involves a wide range of participants including villagers, street musicians and community artists. [Official Website: https://www.fragrantvillage.com/] 
 
Founded in 2012, Ta Kwu Ling/Ping Che Alliance for “Saving Our Home” is a self-initiated alliance by Ping Che villagers in Hong Kong. The visitor’s centre is set up to let the public know more about the lives and works of villages in Ta Kwu Ling/Ping Che. In June 2013, Ping Che Village School Art Festival was co-organized by the alliance. [Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pingchehomeland]