Come join the community development banquet! The 2024 Taichung Community Cultural Festival — Community Development Banquet is in full swing at Sizhangli Park in Beitun District. Visitors can enjoy a feast of diverse community accomplishments, live performances, and exciting local trivia, DIY craft activities, and prize-winning challenge games, offering opportunities for participants to fully experience the rich diversity of local culture.

Taichung City has received excellent evaluation from the Ministry of Culture for 10 years on community development workouts. The city was also honored with the Taiwan Healthy and Age-Friendly City Award by the Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2022 and 2024. These achievements are a testament to the dedication of local community partners, who engage in initiatives like revitalizing neglected areas, organizing neighborhood safety patrols, promoting cleanliness with environmental volunteers, providing meals and care for the elderly, and preserving local cultural traditions. Together, these contributions make community-building a vibrant part of everyday life for Taichung's residents.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau highlighted “Community Development Banquet” theme embraces the traditional banquet concept by inviting communities to present their unique offerings. Each exhibit features playful, dish-inspired names, reflecting the lively spirit of Taiwan's banquet culture and Taichung’s community diversity. With an array of cultural and DIY activities, energize participants with culture and joy.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau noted that community-building efforts in recent years are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and address a wide range of topics, such as preserving local heritage, supporting native languages, promoting food and agricultural education, and fostering a community-based food culture with local ingredients. These initiatives are driven by community residents themselves, generating a strong grassroots movement that unites people around shared goals. This approach also broadens participation across age groups and diverse communities, expanding community-building efforts from a traditional place-based model to one focused on addressing key issues.

This year’s Community Cultural Festival brings together over 100 participating units—including community development hubs, district offices, museums, local cultural centers, and community colleges—to show local special offerings with creativity. The festival especially emphasizes diverse culinary cultures and the promotion of native languages. For instance, communities in Qingtong, Zhongke, Shangcheng, and Shicheng in Dongshi District have teamed up to develop and promote Hakka-style pickled delicacies, offering a delicious taste experience alongside Hakka language learning. Dingliao Community in Wuqi District also developed a Taiwanese-language theater performance, “The Sea Proverbs: The Wedding of Taro and Sweet Potato”, which community members perform to promote Taiwanese language and traditional culture.

Embracing the banquet theme, each exhibit area at the festival is creatively named after dishes. The main stage, “Golden Sands Seafood Wave-Maker,” features energetic performances from community groups. Other sections—like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Seafood Soup,” “People Life, Ocean Wild Ginseng Chicken,” “Soul-Stirring Buddha Jumps Over the Wall,” and “Grand Prosperity Platter”—highlight a variety of achievements of community development hubs, district offices, cultural centers, and community colleges this year. “Dragon and Phoenix Vegetable and Fruits” showcases the cultural centers’ annual accomplishments, while “Moonlight Fried Tangyuan” showcases Taichung’s unique culinary culture. Each exhibit is in conjunction with the “Local Knowledge Challenge Game” with prizes to make the experience even more exciting. In “Sea and Land Birthday Stew”, there are 15 DIY craft activities offering free hands-on experiences like marble pinball games, zodiac figurine molding, mosaic coasters, lucky bamboo decorations, elephant pen toppers, lily planting, and more. Both kids and adults are welcome to join the fun.

The 2024 Taichung Community Cultural Festival — Community development Banquet  takes place on November 16 at Sizhangli Park in Beitun District. All citizens and visitors are welcomed to join the lively spirit atmosphere of community. For more information, please visit the official website of the Taichung Community Cultural Festival.