Article written by Sera-Lyn Terare.
I have previously written about Brisbane’s diverse culture within the local universities, however today I will be talking about Brisbane’s iconic event that commemorates Australia’s diversity as a whole, while providing the tourists and the locals with a rich and memorable cultural experience of a lifetime. I am talking about Buddha’s Birthday festival celebration.
This year the celebration held Friday 4 May 2018 at the Southbank Parklands over three days full of various free family friendly activities. Visitors to this iconic annual event will see 180 events spread out widely to 13 locations throughout the parklands. Event organisers have created 6 individual villages to help festival goers find the specific event that they are looking for. You just follow the path of wisdom throughout the village heart and you will find what you are looking for.
As you walk down the path of wisdom, you will reach the Spiritual Village. This village holds events such as, Bathing Buddha Ritual, a Purifying Ceremony, the Opening Celebration, Light Offering Ceremony, Multicultural performances, a Buddhist Key Note Talk and Meditation.
Walking back down the path of Wisdom, you will find No Boundaries Handprints, information about the events that are on offer over the 3-day weekend and development stalls. The next village that you will encounter is the Wisdom Village located at the Queensland Conservatorium. This village offers talks from recognised Buddhists and an indoor Meditation area for those who wish to participate. Outside of the Wisdom Village, you will find the Meditation Village on the QCon Lawn. This is where you will engage in Tea Meditation.
After your Meditation, the next village is the Cultural Village in the Rainforest Green. You will find the Lumbini garden; here you will find free activities for children, which includes story telling classes, meditation classes and a Bathing Buddha area.
By this point, you have visited the first 4 villages of the festival and will probably be feeling your stomach growling in hunger. This is perfect because the next village that you encounter is the International Vegetarian Food Village in the Cultural Forecourt Closer to the wheel of Brisbane. Here you will found food and merchandise stalls, celebrity cooking, band performances and Happy Buddha. This village would be any foodie’s favourite destination with many stalls offering a range of vegetarian food.
The last village, located in the forecourt next to the food village is the fun village. Here is a diverse variety of fun child friendly activities for the whole family can enjoy.
Already looking forward to next year’s family friendly Buddha birth day celebration.
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