Entertainment | Venetian celebrates Chinese New Year in style

Sands China senior vice president of marketing Scott Messinger

The Venetian Macao has prepared a “Seasons of Prosperity” fiesta in the resort’s outdoor area to welcome residents and visitors coming to celebrate the Chinese New Year (CNY). It features events such as a CNY-themed mini model exhibition, a 3D light and sound spectacular, and the “Creative Creatures – Art and the Chinese Zodiac” goat sculpture exhibition.
One of the highlights of the event is the popular 3D light and sound show named “Seasons of Prosperity”. It takes place from February 6 to March 1 between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. at 30-minute intervals. Visitors will see traditional CNY imagery, including dragons, ‘fai chun’ and goats, adorning the Venetian’s façade.
Another highlight is the CNY-themed mini model exhibition, an all-day exhibition that will take place between February 13 and March 1. It features detailed mini models depicting scenes in both Macau  and Hong Kong from the 1960s to the 1980s, and shows how CNY was celebrated and the rituals that were observed during that period.
Apart from the mini models exhibition, the 3D illusion paintings exhibition is another all-day event. These paintings involve symbols and imagery that are associated with CNY, such as dragons, money, and cherry blossoms. Both the 3D illusion paintings exhibition and the mini models exhibition are free and will be open to visitors during the same period as the Venetian’s outdoor lagoon area.
Other performances that are part of the “Seasons of Prosperity” include a rhythmical drum performance, interactive magic acts and LED lion dances. The three performances will take place from February 19 to 25 in different time slots. The drum performance will take place between 4.15 p.m. and 5.15 p.m., the magic act between 4.30 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. and the LED lion dance between 6.40 p.m. and 7.40 p.m.
To provide visitors with more of a surprise, the “God of Fortune” will also make an appearance among the crowd at the lagoon area during the same period between 2.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.
Among all the events taking place as part of “Seasons of Prosperity”, one of the most eye-catching is, without doubt, the “Creative Creatures – Art and the Chinese Zodiac” goat sculpture exhibition. Before settling at various exhibiting locations in the outdoor areas of the Venetian and throughout Macau, the 38 sculptures and their designers were present at the “Seasons of Prosperity” opening ceremony on February 5.
“It is our great pleasure to once again entertain visitors and locals alike with our spectacular entertainment offerings at The Venetian Macao this Chinese New Year. We are pleased to sponsor ‘Anno Caprum,’ particularly as it supports and offers a platform to local artists to showcase their significant talents to the world, but also because it is a truly unique addition to our annual festivities,” Sands China senior vice president of marketing Scott Messinger said during his speech at the ceremony.
While saying that he should not play favorites, Mr Messinger said that one of the goat sculptures he had noticed when entering the venue depicts a goat wearing boxer shorts with a pair of boxing gloves hanging around its neck. “I would like to think of it as some small way of recognizing not only Macau’s strong commitment to boxing over the last 18 months, but also, and very importantly, the career of KK Ng,” he said, reminding the guests that the undefeated local professional boxer will feature in a fight at the Cotai Arena on March 7.
The Times spoke to several artists who attended the ceremony. One of them was Pat Lam, the artist who decorated the boxing-themed goat sculpture that Mr Messinger mentioned. Lam said that he started conceptualizing his creation through breaking down the word “goat” into “go at,” and came up with the phrase “have a go at it,” which is also the name of his sculpture. He said that he wanted the goat to pursue something that it has never done, and thus Lam decided to make it a boxer.
Another participating artist is the Times’ cartoonist, Rodrigo de Matos. He named his sculpture “goatiger”  painted it with a tiger pattern. He said that his creation came from the idea of combining two types of animals together. “What I want to express is the reinvention of nature, as if we could intervene so much in the animals that they could become something else,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that it’s a special critique against the use of genetic engineering or something like that. It’s more of a poetic interpretation of the notion of changing and intervening into nature.”
Macau Daily Times is the media partner of  “Seasons of Prosperity”.