Pandas, Paper Cutting, and Passing Showers: Inside the Confucius Institute’s Day at Weston Park May Fayre

Sheffield, UK – 17 May 2026 – If you happened to walk past Weston Park this past Sunday, you might have caught the smell of festival food, the sound of laughter, and a tent buzzing with families trying their hand at learning Mandarin whilst it was raining cats and dogs!

The  Confucius Institute at the University of Sheffield teamed up with Sheffield City Council,  and The Children’s Hospital Charity to bring a series of hands on Chinese culture workshop to this year’s Weston Park May Fayre. The goal? To give local residents a fun, interactive taste of Chinese traditions.

Hands on Crafts and Games

From the moment the fayre opened our area was packed with children and adults eager to try something new. The team set up a lineup of activities that kept everyone busy all afternoon:

• Traditional Crafts: Visitors learned the precise art of paper cutting to make paper garlands, while others tried traditional "rubbing" to print colourful patterns onto paper.
• Ink and Brushes: Eager participants picked up calligraphy brushes to practice writing Chinese characters and painting their own pandas on rice paper and fans.
• Face Painting with a Twist: Instead of the usual festival face paint, children queued up to get colourful Peking Opera mask designs painted on their faces.
• Mini Language Lessons: Visitors learned how to say basic greetings like “nǐ hǎo” (hello) and “xiè xie” (thank you), and even walked away with a personalized card showing their name written in Chinese.
• Games: The tent was full of laughs as people tried their hand at Tóuhú, a traditional, surprisingly tricky arrow-throwing game.

To make things even more fun, children earned a voucher for every activity they completed. Once they collected enough, they could trade them in for a cute panda toy or gift, a massive hit that kept the stall busy all day.

Dodging the Rain with a Smile

It wouldn’t be a British spring event without a few passing showers. While Sheffield threw some classic intermittent rain at the fayre, it didn't ruin the mood. As soon as the sun peeked back through the clouds, families were right back at the tables, creating a great, resilient atmosphere that the SCI teachers and volunteers won't forget anytime soon.

Connecting Families to Culture

For some visitors, the event was a great chance to build on a personal connection. One local father of three, who had previously lived in China, shared how much the day meant to his family:

“I teach my kids a bit of Chinese at home, so being able to bring them here today to experience calligraphy, paper cutting, and traditional games first hand is just brilliant. I want them to have that direct, real connection to the culture. We're definitely planning to send them to the Star Chinese School when they're a bit older, so today was the perfect introduction. A huge thank you to the team.”

A Great Day Out for Sheffield

The May Fayre is always a highlight for local families, and this year was no exception. Alongside the culture workshop, the free event featured a vintage carousel, artisan food stalls, street performers from the University, and even appearances from Stormtroopers and Theo the Bear.

For the Sheffield Confucius Institute, the day was all about building bridges within the community. Following the success of the May Fayre, the team is already looking forward to popping up at more local events around Sheffield soon!