Seattle Center Hosts Chinese Culture Festival, 5/21

Seattle Center Festál: A Glimpse of China - Chinese Culture and Arts Festival offers exploration and insights into the ancient and modern culture of China, Saturday, May 21, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., in Center House.

Learn Chinese folk dances, create delicate artworks and share in cultural traditions covering 5,000 years of Chinese history. Over 15 Chinese groups will showcase Chinese music, dance, Wushu (martial arts), Taiqi (Tai Chi) and puppet arts. The festival also offers interactive Chinese calligraphy and painting for children and Chinese arts and craft booths. Additionally, Washington State Confucius Institute will give guidance on Chinese language learning.

Special to the festival this year, Dragon Art Studio of Portland, OR, the only professional Chinese puppet theater in the United States, will perform spectacular puppet shows dramatizing more than 1,000 years of history. The art of puppetry, combining artistic expression and traditional Chinese Opera movements and music, began as a cultural ritual and later became a form of entertainment to the royal family and common public. Beautifully engineered mechanical puppet parts and western technology tell stories packed with humor, elegance and great theatricality.

The 21 Seattle Center Festál cultural celebrations highlight The Common forms of tradition and expression among ethnic communities in the Pacific Northwest, while underscoring their unique creative contributions, customs, foods and ideals. Each event offers moving entertainment and fascinating insight into a different culture of the world.

Seattle Center Festál: A Glimpse of China - Chinese Culture and Arts Festival is presented by Seattle Center in partnership with the Washington Chinese Art Culture Committee. For a full event schedule, visit www.chinaartandculture.com, and for more information on this cultural series and other Seattle Center programming, click on www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200.

About Seattle Center Festál

Seattle Center Festál, a series of 21 world festivals presented at Seattle Center throughout 2011, highlights the distinct cultures and common threads of ethnic communities in our region through traditional and contemporary art, music, foods, youth activities, workshops and more. This collection of cultural events is produced with the generous support of Wells Fargo, Verizon Wireless and KUOW 94.9 Public Radio. Additional support is provided by Seattle Center Foundation and the City of Seattle.