TAINAN (TVBS News)—Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) announced Wednesday (Feb. 5) that the second Xinying Shimmer Festival (新營波光節) will commence Saturday at Swan Lake Park (天鵝湖公園). The festival, themed "Among the Trails" (路徑之間), will run until March 16 and offer a fresh cultural experience in Tainan.
The Xinying Shimmer Festival, a new artistic brand for Tainan, attracted over 280,000 visitors in 2024 and became a trending online destination, winning the MUSE Design Awards. This year, it will shine alongside the Yuejin Lantern Festival (月津港燈節) in Yanshuei District (鹽水), along with events like the beehive fireworks event (鹽水蜂炮) and the Taiwan International Orchid Show (台灣國際蘭展).
The Tainan City Government stated that this year's theme, "Among the Trails," invites visitors to become light and shadow wanderers, exploring neon signs, alleyway scenes, and lakeside ecology to rediscover city details.
The festival's artworks reflect artists' profound interpretations of urban culture, such as Chou Ting-hsien's (周定賢) "AquaMira" (水幕投影), which uses Swan Lake as a canvas for storytelling through images, music, and fountains.
Lee Yung-chih's (李勇志) "Xinying Neon" (新營霓虹) digitally revives lost industrial logos and neon lights, awakening collective memories of Xinying. At the same time, Komiya Yukina (胡宮雪娜) uses Taiwan egg cake motifs to symbolize war and peace.
The festival also plans promotional activities, including Swan Lake ecological tours, and will connect with Xinying's independent bookstores, community colleges, and bar spaces for artist talks and workshops.