"2023 Changhua County Mazu Festival" will be held from October 20th (Friday) to October 22nd (Sunday) while its publicity press conference took place this morning (11th) at Erlin Cultural Park. The festival is about to kick off. Hope Mazu will bless the people with peace and happiness, revitalize the local economy, and drive the development of industries. 
 
Acccording to the County Mayor, from Oct 20th to 22nd, the Mazu statues from 12 Mazu temples in the county will be gathered at the Renhe Temple in Erlin for the joint pilgrimage (聯合遶境) activity, and a series of activities will take place from day to night. For example, Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Culture Group's 8 Immortal Series (明華園八仙傳奇) at 7 p.m. on Oct 20th, Chio-Tian Folk Drums & Arts Troupe (九天民俗技藝團) at 7 p.m. on Oct 21st, and Mazu Blessing Evening Gala at 7 p.m. on Oct 22nd. The lucky draw will be available in the gala with prizes of 55-inch LCD TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, bicycles, electric fans and many other prizes. Participants may have a chance to win big prizes while enjoying the beautiful songs. Besides, 3 interesting activities are organized as the highlights of the festival: 1. Stamp Collection Activity to enhance the public's understanding of the specified 13 temples. From now on, the public is welcome to visit each temple to collect stamps in advance, and then redeem gifts at the Renhe Temple during the festival; 2. Divination Block Throwing Contest, which will be divided into preliminary and final contests. The top 3 contestants who throw the most shengjiao (聖杯), or divine answer positions, will advance to the final round. First prize is a Dyson lightweight cordless vacuum cleaner; 3. Argicultural Experience Tour, which will take tourists to Erlin, Pitou, Xizhou, Fangyuan and Puyan for in-depth tourism to enjoy local special agricultural products and Agri-food education DIY activities and to experience oyster harvesting by buffalo carts in intertidal zone. Moreover, the one who successfully passes the barriers in the barrier-breaking activity will gain a coupon eligible for use in stores with a festival sticker in the Erlin area. 4,000 coupons are available daily. In the hope of carrying forward Mazu’s spirit of compassion and benevolence to the world, this event combines culture, religion, industry, and tourism to make the township better, allowing local people to understand the local culture and also attracting drifters to return home or people from other cities/counties to take part in the grand event. 
 
For detail information about each activity of the “2023 Changhua County Mazu Festival,” please visit the website of Changhua County Cultural Affairs Bureau at https://www.bocach.gov.tw/mazu/Default.aspx