THERE will be plenty of monkey business going on when celebrations to mark Chinese New Year get under way tomorrow.

Dancers, acrobats and musicians will pack Oxford Town Hall with stunning performances and there will be a series of speeches by Oxford dignitaries as part of the Year of the Monkey celebrations.

One of the organisers, Boris Wong, said he expected this year to be “better than ever”.

He added: “We are really excited because there will be a lot of cultural performances and we’re hoping a lot of people will turn up.”

The event is being run by the Oxfordshire Chinese Community & Advice Centre (OCCAC) for the 25th year in a row.

Last year’s celebrations included Chinese traditional folk dance and music, popular Mandarin pop songs and comedy skits performed by students from Oxford University.

Another organiser, Dr Lesheng Kong, said he expected this year to be “spectacular”.

He said: “There will be a Chinese buffet lunch followed by the spectacular traditional cultural performances – lion dance, stilt walking, face changing, waist-drum dance, magic, Guzheng solos and Chinese dance by performers from London, Oxford University students and OCCAC women and children.”

He added: “With such an exciting and fantastic programme we are expecting around 1,000 people to turn up.”

Chinese New Year, which is also known as Lunar New Year, is considered to be the most important traditional festival for Chinese people all over the world.

Each year is named after one of 12 symbolic animals, with people born in the Year of the Monkey believed to be creative, ingenious, curious and competent.

Monkeys are believed to be forever playful and the masters of practical jokes, and though their intentions are always good, their desire to be a prankster means they have a tendency to create ill will and hurt feelings.

People born in this year are believed to prefer urban life to rural.

Years of the monkey include: 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992 and 2004.

The event at the Town Hall in St Aldate’s runs from 12.45pm to 3.45pm.

To buy tickets in advance call 01865 204188.