Until Saturday, December 8
Back in the 1880s, Italian author Carlo Collodi worked on a serial that was later turned into a book that these days is considered a classic of children’s literature. Now in late 2007, the Faust International Youth Theatre will revisit Collodi’s Pinocchio in a new dramatisation performed entirely by a cast of children. Their version of this beloved fable of a little puppet that yearns to be a real boy will be staged at the Fringe Club’s Fringe Theatre from November 29 to December 1 and December 5 to 8. In addition to the daily 7:30pm performances, 2:30pm shows are scheduled for Saturday, December 1 and 8, and 10:30am shows scheduled for December 5 to 7. Tickets are $180 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

November 30-December 2
Everyone loves the fast paced boundary shots and scores or sixes. So perhaps it is reason enough for a double hurrah that the HK Cricket Festival is the largest club cricket sixes tournament in the world and that 2007 is the sixth consecutive year the festival is being staged. At the same time, the festivities will be tinged with sadness as this will be the last year they will be taking place at the Po Kong Village Road’s picturesque cricket grounds. So while you can, make your way to that Diamond Hill venue where 34 teams from Hong Kong and overseas will compete in several divisions, including one contested solely by women.

Play runs from 9am-5:30pm all three days of November 30-December 2. Admission is free for spectators. For more details, go to www.hkcricketfestival.com

Sunday, December 2
When Luo Jing was around 8 years old, a teacher at her primary school noticed that she had hands big enough to play the traditional Chinese musical instrument, the zheng. Many music lovers would undoubtedly like to shake that educationist’s hand for Luo Jing took her teacher’s advice to learn the instrument and has gone on to become a zheng virtuoso who, on Sunday, December 2, will headline the HK Chinese Orchestra’s Luo Jing’s World of Zhengs concert at the HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall. The show is scheduled to commence at 8pm. Tickets are $250 to $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 5-12
Less than a month after Mandopop megastar Jay Chou kicked off his first concert series in three years in his native Taiwan, Hong Kong fans who have managed to secure tickets to his concerts at the HK Coliseum will see their idol performing live. The Jay Chou World Tour 07-08 is slated to feature performances of songs from all eight of the World Music Award-winner’s albums, including his latest, On the Run, released only a few days before the start of this latest concert series. Showtime each evening is scheduled for 8:15pm. Tickets are $480, $280 and $180 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 7 and 8
Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was born on December 8, 1865. To commemorate his birth anniversary, this December 7 and 8 the HK Philharmonic Orchestra – with guest conductor David Atherton and violinist Viviane Hagner – will put on a pair of Pure Sibelius concerts whose programmes comprise four major pieces (the Karelia Suite; Violin Concerto; Symphony No 6; and Finlandia) by the classical master. Both performances are set to start at 8pm at the HK Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall. Tickets are $320 to $120 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 7-9
Women and their stories will take centre stage in the City Contemporary Dance Company’s latest presentation choreographed by the group’s resident choreographer, Helen Lai. Her Story: Women of Language, the Language of Women delves into feminine fantasies but also pays tribute to Nushu, the endangered and unique written language developed and used exclusively for over four centuries by generations of women in Hunan Province’s Jiangyong county. Two contemporary local women writers, Xi Xi and Wong Bik-wan, will also be honoured in the programme. Showtime is 8pm on December 7, 3pm and 8pm on December 8, and 3pm only on December 9 at the HK Cultural Centre’s Studio Theatre. Tickets are $160 and $120 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Coincidence? As it so happens, another set of dance performances has been planned for the same three days in December, although on the other side of Victoria Harbour – at the Sai Wan Ho Civic Theatre. A presentation by Muse Motion, Rhapsody in Dance will feature a group of award-winning dancers’ exploration of the magic of relationships. In the words of Allen Tam, one of its choreographer-dancers, “This project is more about connection and giving.” The performances on December 7 and 8 are scheduled to begin at 8pm while showtime on December 9 is at 3pm. As Tam is dedicating the show’s opening performance to AIDS Concern, tickets for the Friday, December 7, charity event are $600 (please contact 2898 4411 for further enquiries). Tickets for the two other performances are $400 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

December 7-16
The Alliance Française de HK has been organizing French film festivals in the Fragrant Harbour since November 1953, though they haven’t always gone by the name French Cinepanorama. Hence this year’s edition is only counted as number 36 in the long-running series. A 10-day event in 2007, the festival screens 23 films including the opening Chacun Son Cinéma (To Each His Own Cinema), a compilation of three minutes of film from each of 32 directors (including Hong Kong’s Wong Kar Wai) from 25 countries, and gala premieres for American auteur Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (which won two major awards at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival) and French first-time director Julien Leclercq’s sci-fi crime-thriller, Chrysalis. Tickets for the screenings are $50 each from URBTIX, 2734 9009. For further details (including individual screening dates, times and venues), go to www.alliancefrancaise.com.hk/en/culturel/cinepanorama/fcp36/index/intropage.htm

December 7-29
“I’m just a storyteller, and the cinema happens to be my medium.” So modestly stated Federico Fellini (1920-1993), a giant of world cinema whose influential body of work is the focus of a retrospective presented by Hong Kong’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department this December. Frederico Fellini: Programme 3 of the Repertory Cinema 2007 comprises 15 gems by the Italian master, including the grist for discussion that is La Dolce Vita (1960), the masterful 8 1/2 (1963), the jungian Juliet of the Spirits (1965), the sensual Fellini Satyricon (1969), and the nostalgic Ginger and Fred (1985). Tickets for individual screenings at the HK Film Archive’s Cinema, the HK Science Museum’s Lecture Hall and the HK Space Museum’s Lecture Hall cost $50 each from URBTIX, 2734 9009. For further details (including individual screening dates and times), go to www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/filmprog/english/2007fellini/2007fl_index.html

Saturday, December 8
How big an event is rugby’s HK Sevens? Those who have yet to fully realize its relevance, can get some idea from the fact that the 2008 Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse HK Sevens Public Ticket Sale is an event in itself that comes complete with a full day’s G4S Union 7s tournament on the ticket sale day! While entry is free for the tournament on Saturday, December 8, those HK Sevens tickets going on sale for the March 28-30, 2008 event, are $1,080. For details, go to www.hksevens.com. The HKRFU Rugby Fun Day takes places on 2 December at Southorn Playground, drop by between 2-6pm and join in the fun.

Sunday, December 9
It’s that time of year again as the best jockeys, trainers and horses gravitate towards Shatin Racecourse for the Cathay Pacific International Races. And its quite a big deal: there are 4 races: HK Cup (2000m), HK Mile (1600m), HK Vase (2400m) and HK Sprint (1200m) and combined, they are worth an approximated $62million! Seize the opportunity to wear your biggest hat and get yourself down to the racecourse with a $60 Festival Passport that includes admission to the public enclosure, tickets to a Shaolin Martial arts performance, $30 food coupon and many other goodie deals. Get your passport from sales booths at the racecourses, designated off-course betting branches and certain 7-11 stores now.