REDDITCH residents are being invited to celebrate Chinese New Year at the Kingfisher Shopping Centre.

The festivities will be taking place on Saturday, February 28 from 11.30 when the Choy Lee Fut Lion Dance troupe will perform a traditional lion dance.

The performance will start inside Barclay’s bank to bring wealth and good fortune. It will then move outside and towards Debenhams for the main event which lasts 25 minutes.

The dance is believed to bring good luck for the new year and features the dancers making the lion move to the rhythm of drums, cymbals and a gong.

During the event there will be a martial arts demonstration and cultural activities with Yum Tum Club and Redditch Chinese Association.

Fay Yeng, from the Redditch Chinese Association, said: "This is the second time Chinese New Year will be celebrated in the Kingfisher Shopping Centre.

"Last year it was fabulous, hundreds of shoppers were entertained by the skills and power of the world class lion dancers. This year it should be even better.

"It’s wonderful to be able to share this awesome and exciting part of Chinese culture with the people of Redditch.

"It’s well suited for all ages and everyone is welcome to our pop up shop opposite Holland & Barratt afterwards for more cultural fun after the performance.”

Ken Williams, general manager at the Kingfisher Shopping Centre, said, “Providing the lion dance for our shoppers is a really exciting way to share this Chinese tradition and mark the start of Chinese New Year.

“We hope people will come along and enjoy the show and hopefully we’ll bring good luck to all our shoppers.”