Taipei City Government

Organized by Taipei City Buddhist Altar and Ritual Supplies Business Association, the “Taipei Altar and Ritual Supplies Culture Festival” will kick off on September 5.

To coincide with Ghost Month, the event will feature preparation of offerings for the deceased. Other highlights of the festival include guided tours, DIY sessions, and seminars to introduce people to the hundred-year-old history of Taipei’ s Buddhist altar and ritual supplies craft industry – which continues to reinvent and transform itself over the years.

During the guided tour, participants will embark on a journey to explore the temple culture and Buddhist altar and ritual industry in Xiyuan and Songshan areas. Professional docents will educate participants on local religious beliefs and methods to appreciate the crafts of sculpturing wooden statues of gods, hand-painted lanterns, embroidery, gilding techniques, and more. Acclaimed deity statue carvers will be invited to demonstrate this rarely-seen art and instruct people on making useful tools as souvenirs in the hands-on sessions. For the seminars, the speaker will encourage attendees to look at religious artifacts from a non-religious perspective and appreciate the sheer artistic beauty.

Online registration is now available at the following Chinese websites:
https://goo.gl/Lu2s1Z (guided tours)
https://goo.gl/HPoyP3 (DIY artwork sessions)
https://goo.gl/HQG5FV (seminars)

To learn more about the event, visit the Facebook pages of the festival (https://ppt.cc/fkW6gx) or Taipei City Office of Commerce (https://www.facebook.com/tcooc/?fref=mentions)