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June 15-17
Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu are the unlikely names of two craters on asteroid 433 Eros. They also are the names of the star-crossed protagonists of one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature; specifically, The Dream of Red Chamber which will be staged as a multi-media music theatre for three days this month. Starring Perry Chiu and singer-actress Ella Kwun, this latest adaptation of the novel will be performed in Cantonese with English surtitles. Evening shows from June 15 to 17 commence at 8pm while the matinees on June 16 and 17 start at 3pm. All performances are at the Kwai Tsing Theatre. Tickets at $240, $180 and $120 from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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 June 23 - July 15
Martial arts knight, crime-busting police inspector, man of iron, Walter Tso Tat-wah (1915-2007) appeared in over 700 films, five of which the Hong Kong Film Archive will present in a commemorative tribute to one of local cinema’s shining stars. This short but sterling film series will get off to a spirited start with the World War II ‘national defence’ film Roar of the People (1941) and include screenings of The Story of Wong Fei-hung, Part Four: The Death of Leung Foon (1950), The Nine-Fingered Devil (1955) and The Seven Swords and the Thirteen Heroes (1967) before drawing to a close with the local lunar new year comedy with Uncle Wah in the role of family patriarch – It’s A Wonderful Life (1994). Various Iron Man of the Screen film screenings are scheduled for June 23, 24 and 30 and July 1, 2 and 15. Tickets
are priced at $30 and from URBTIX,
2734 9009. |
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Sunday, June 17
R2D2 and C3PO won’t be in attendance but other robots will at the Robocon 2007 Hong Kong Contest D-day. Short for ‘robot contest’, Robocon is an international event geared to creating friendships and promoting the exchange of engineering and information technology among today’s youth. The RTHK-organized Hong Kong contest will pit nine teams of robot creators from five local universities against one another for the prize of a place as Hong Kong representatives at the 6th ABU Robocon Contest in Hanoi, Vietnam, in August 2007. The contest will take place from 2:30pm to 5pm on June 17 at the Arcade at Cyberport. Admission is free to all members of the public. |
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Tuesday, June 19
In 288 BCE, according to an ancient Chinese legend, an honest and learned minister of state named Chu Yuan wrote a poem to express concern for the old ruler of the kingdom of Ch’u who had been captured by a rival state. The poem did not go down well with the king’s successor who ordered Chu Yuan into exile. In another version of the tale, the honorable statesman fell into despair because his good counsel was ignored by his king. Either way, both stories end with his taking a fatal leap into the Mi-Lo River and mourning villagers feeding rice to the fish so they would not eat Chu Yuan’s body. Chu Yuan is commemorated during the festival called Tuen Ng in Cantonese, though it is referred to as Poet’s Day in some quarters and the Dragon Boat Festival in others. Observed annually on the fifth day of the fifth moon in the Chinese lunar calendar for the past two and half millennia, this year the festival with its many dragon-boat races falls on June 19 of the Gregorian calendar this year. |
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June 21-23
The government of the People’s Republic of China officially recognizes 56 different ethnic groups in the country. Close to twice that number of members of the Elite Dance Company of China will be on hand to perform in a dance extravaganza that places the spotlight on folk dances from various of those ethnic groups. Celebration in Motion – A Chinese Folk Dance Gala is a close to two-hour programme whose highlights include the Mongolian In Full Formal Dress, Miao Swaying and Swaying We Go and Korean Joy along with The Moon Fan Dance of the Han majority. Tickets for the June 21 show at the HK Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre are from $100-$280. Tickets for the June 22 performance at the Sha Tin Town Hall are $260, $180 and $100. Tickets for the June 23 show at the Tuen Mun Town Hall are $240, $170 and $100. Tickets for all from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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June 21-23
Shhhhh? The Not So Loud Theatre Company is back at it again. This time, they are presenting The Flying Fish and the Sun, a brand new dramatic tale of intrigue and self-discovery set in 1873 Hong Kong and penned by Neil Harris and Flickie Lapish. The June 21 to 23 performances are set to commence at 7pm each evening at the Fringe
Theatre. Tickets are $140 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288 |
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June 29-August 11
Never been to the Forbidden City? Not to worry, now you don’t have to go to Beijing to feast your eyes on prized items from the Palace Museum’s collections. Thirty-two of the most important Chinese paintings and pieces of calligraphy of the Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties are due to go on show at the HK Museum of Art in two phases (each a display of 16 of the masterworks): the first from June 29 to July 22 and the second from July 23 to August 11. The Pride of China exhibition will be open from 9am to 9pm daily except for Thursdays that are not public holidays. Admission price for this exhibition is $30 but it will be free on July 1 and 2. For more information, www.hk.art.museum or call 2721 0116. |
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June 29 and July 1
Yet another of the HK Philharmonic’s ‘Great Performers’ touches down in the SAR: this time around, legendary Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit gets top billing for two concerts that also showcase the genius of Canadian violinist Chantal Juillet and the HK Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Dutoit will conduct a programme of Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose suite, Igor Stravinsky’s seldom-heard violin concerto and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade symphonic suite. The June 29 concert will commence at 8pm while the concert on July 1 starts at 3pm. Both will be at the HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall. Tickets are priced from $150 to $500 and are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. |
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Sunday, July 1
In case you didn’t know it already, this July 1 will mark the 10th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The season for this milestone’s official commemoration got underway back in April and will last through to December. Nonetheless, the day itself will see a whole slew of special events, of which the following are just a selected sample.
Special Flag Raising Ceremony at Golden Bauhinia Square at 8am. (Call 2594 5688 for details.)
Variety Show and Parade at the Happy Valley Recreation Ground from 10am to 2pm. (Call 3652 5700 for details.)
The HKSAR 10th Anniversary Reunification Cup will feature three highly anticipated football matches: one pits the FIFA All-Stars against the Chinese national team; in a second, European giants Bayern Munich take on South America’s Sao Paulo; and the third is a contest between a team of Hong Kong movie stars and their Chinese equivalents. Tickets are priced at $60 for adults and $20 for seniors and students. (Call 2712 9122.for more details).
A grand Fireworks Display will follow A Symphony of Lights sound and light
show on Victoria Harbour timed to last from 8pm-8:36pm. (Call 2591 1340 for more details.) |
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