Of the Auckland Lantern Festival 2011

I have had a few conversations with my son and daughter over recent months and noted a few comments made by them which concerned me a little.They are not being exposed or introduced to cultures other than the traditional white, middle-class Nu Zild culture that they have been born into.Their school does have children attending from other cultures but aside from tokenism I suspect there is not much attention paid to the rich heritages represented.I suggested that we go check out the Auckland Lantern Festival. The boys response: "Why? I'm not Chinese.".It's possibly not surprising. I grew up in Palmerston North. This is not a city known for embracing multi-culturalism. And it has been pointed out that I don't have a lot of friends from cultures other than mine. Well - that's a little harsh. Firstly, I don't have a lot of friends - acquaintences, yes, but few true friends. Secondly, I went to school in Palmy and of the two Chinese guys I grew up with, one spent his life playing hockey (he was amazingly good at it) and the other was a complete computer geek (he was fun! I spent a lot of time with him after school, and I've long since lost contact with him).In the last six months or so, I have been blessed with the introduction of people into my life from cultural backgrounds different to mine. Indian, Bengali, Fijian, Malay, Chinese, Australian (:p) and more. I have loved exploring foods, beliefs and the tapestry of their histories.I am intending to visit more countries and immerse. In 2009 I got to visit Hong Kong (loved it) and in 2010 I visited Tokyo (loved it). This year? Well... China is on my list. Singapore? Thailand? Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea... so many options to choose from.So, it is well overdue. From here on in I am going to be making an effort to educate my kids about other countries, their histories and their cultures.Here's a montage of our visit to the Festival.And of course, welcome to the Year of the Rabbit!!If you have any suggestions as to events or festivals or other things I can take my kids to or attend myself, please comment!- Simon