Last year's Lucky Lion Night Market in Victoria Park. (credit: Jack Sutton)
The Lucky Lion Night market is back in London, after a successful debut last September. The Asian food and cultural festival is happening in Victoria Park from Friday to Sunday, and will be open from noon until midnight.
This year, Londoners can expect to see almost double the vendors, and the cultural performances will be even bigger than last year, according to organizers.
“I think it really raises the bar, in terms of what we can really showcase, in regards to festivals that really bring people together,” says Julia Park, one of the event’s organizers. “And, that’s sort of our mission–to really provide those authentic experiences, cultural experiences, that people can enjoy with their family and with their friends.”
The festival was started in 2019 in Hamilton, Ontario, and has since expanded to other cities across the province, including London.
“We wanted to bring it (here) because a lot of our board members actually were students who go to universities surrounding London,” says Park. “They recommended that this is really an amazing city, that it’s something they’re really missing, and really need out there, so we thought we’d bring it over.”
Park says the festival has a lot to offer the community and that she would like to make it an annual event in London.
“I think that there’s a huge community of not only, you know, Asian-Canadians in London that really appreciate being able to have a lot of the authentic, different cultural foods that we offer, but also people that really want to experience that for the first time.”
As this year’s festival features more food vendors, Park says there will be new things for Londoners to try.
“For example, smelly tofu is a classic night market item,” she says. “They weren’t here last year, but they’re coming this year. So, that’s something I think a lot of people are excited to try for the first time. I think, you know, cultural foods like that, it’s an experience in itself.”
Performances will include Chinese lion dancing on Friday and Saturday nights at 9:30 p.m., as well as Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m.
“They really work so hard for the entire year, really, to showcase their annual performance,” says Park.
“It’s hard to explain in words, but when you’re there, really experiencing the LED lights, and their story–it’s really interactive and it’s quite magical to be a part of.”
Here’s a video walkthrough of last year’s festival:
