THE Chew Jetty Chinese New Year Celebration 2020 will be packed with colourful cultural acts to enthral the crowd. To be held on the eighth day of the Chinese lunar calendar, this year’s event promises to be vibrant and refreshing with brand new acts. Apart from performances like lion dances on stilts and dragon dances, there will be speed glitter artwork with a Chinese New Year theme, a God of Prosperity magician, an LED-costume cultural dance, a flower lady dance and a base drum performance at the event. Chew Jetty Association chairman Chew Choon Seng said this would be their fifth consecutive year holding the cultural performances in conjunction with the Jade Emperor’s birthday celebration. “Chew Jetty will be marking its 113th anniversary during the celebration,” he said during a press conference at the Chew Jetty multipurpose hall. The celebration, which will be held at Chew Jetty in Penang from 8pm on Feb 1 until the wee hours of the morning on Feb 2, is jointly organised by the state which allocated RM75,000 for the event, and the Chew Jetty Association. Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi said they expect about 50,000 visitors. “The stage will only occupy one lane and will not be in the Chew Jetty parking area like in previous years. “This is to cater to the increase in visitors over the years and their safety and comfort. “Another thing to note is the road closure whereby part of Jalan Pengkalan Weld in front of Chew Jetty will be closed from 10.30am from Jan 31 to put up the stage. “This will be followed by the closing of a longer stretch in the jetty area on the day of the event. “The stretch from Gat Lebuh Melayu to Gat Lebuh Chulia will be closed from 3pm on Feb 1 until the celebration is over. This is to cater to visitors, especially those celebrating the Jade Emperor’s birthday,” he said. Gooi encouraged road users to be aware of the road closure and consider using public or e-hailing services to get around and travel to the celebration. “There will be limited parking spaces so I also encourage those who are driving to carpool to avoid congestion,” he said. Gooi said there are also stall spaces along Gat Lebuh Armenian up for grabs. “There are some 10 stall spaces available on the day of the event. “Those interested must however register with the organisers in accordance with the Penang Island City Council licensing department,” he said, adding that they would consider opening up more spaces for stalls if the response was good. Those interested can contact Mango at 013-4352932. Closing date for registration is Thursday.