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Celebration to Highlight New Installation of Community-Defined Artistic Lantern in Hing Hay Park

Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Friends of Hing Hay Park, and the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) invite the community to celebrate the new art piece at Hing Hay Park on Monday, December 9, 2019. Please join us from 5 to 6 p.m. to view the newly installed Celebrate Happiness Lantern. There will be a short program beginning at 5:15 p.m. with small snacks to be handed out after the program. Cantonese interpretation will be available. 

During the community engagement process for the Hing Hay Park expansion between 2013 and 2016, the Chinatown International District community expressed a desire to have an artistic sign to communicate the name and meaning of Hing Hay Park. Translated into English, “Hing Hay” means “celebrate happiness.” After the expansion was completed in 2017, the Friends of Hing Hay Park facilitated a request for qualifications process and local artist George Lee was hired to design and build a public art piece for Hing Hay Park. Throughout 2018, George, the Friends of Hing Hay Park, and the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) conducted a comprehensive community engagement program that resulted in the final design, inspired by a sky lantern.

The new lantern artistically brings together the older and newer halves of the park. The design is an eight-sided aluminum red lantern with bright yellow signage and gold trim. On three faces primary text is displayed, each on one face: 慶喜公園, Hing Hay Park, and Celebrate Happiness. On two panels, adjacent on each side of primary text panels, are additional languages of communities within the CID. At night, the lettering is illuminated, and all of the same languages are projected below the lantern onto the ground below.

This was an exciting collaboration between artist and community to showcase the festivity of the Park’s name for all to appreciate in different languages and in the sculptural, illuminated interpretation of a sky lantern.

This project is funded by the Seattle Office of Economic Development and administered by SCIDpda. This event is sponsored by Seattle Parks and Recreation.