Until June 20
A Filipino feature awarded a 10-minute standing ovation at its 2007 Cannes Film Festival premiere and a Mainland Chinese film about seven survivors of the Cultural Revolution cycling 3,100 km from Lanzhou to the Everest Base Camp are among the five films proving Asian resilience in this yearís Asia Society Summer Film Series. With ëAsian Fortitudeí as its theme, the sixth and latest edition of this now annual series will run until June 20 at the Grand Cinema. Tickets are $55 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288. For more details (including individual screening dates and times), go www.asiasociety.org/asianfortitude

May 30 and 31
Think gumbo and the usual image conjured up is of a delicious Louisiana stew. However, Gumbo is also the name of the theatre group from Osaka, Japan, returning to Hong Kong with Sakura Slayer ñ Sakura Drives You Mad! on May 30 and 31. Physical comedy specialists who strive to bewilder as well as entertain with their trademark high energy and frantic, absurd yet poignant humour, these performers happily use music, dance, mime, clowning and even traditional Japanese swordplay to get guffaws and more from the audience. The two evening performances at the Fringe Clubís Fringe Studio begin at 8pm while the matinee is set for 3pm. Tickets are $200 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

May 31 and June 2
In a small village up in the Pyrenees Mountains, an annual international music celebration has attracted world-class performers for close to six decades. Established by a self-exiled Spanish Catalan cellist-conductor who also lived for 20 years in China and Puerto Rico, the Pablo Casals Chamber Music Festival of Prades normally takes place in the 9th century Abbey of St Michel de Cuxa. On May 31 and June 2, courtesy of Le French May, the Fragrant Harbour will taste the festivalís repertoire when nine of its musicians present a pair of chamber music concerts at the HK Academy for Performing Artsí Concert Hall. Works by FaurÈ and Schubert are on the first programme, while Beethoven and Messiaen feature on the second. Showtime is 8pm on both evenings. Tickets are $350 and $180 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

Wednesday, June 4
The wise sage George Santayana said it best: ìThose who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.î So, on June 4, recall what took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989, spare a thought for the victims of the massacre and the cause for which they made their sacrifices, and head over to the now customary candlelight vigil in Victoria Park. Additionally, this year, the Asian Peopleís Theatre Festival Society are planning a free In Memory of June Fourth performance by artists from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Indonesia and the UK at Times Square, Causeway Bay, between 5pm and 7:30pm.

Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Trondheim Soloistsí Deutsche Grammophon recording of Vivaldiís evergreen The Four Seasons won great acclaim but what price would you pay to hear them play this popular work live? On June 4, you can decide for yourself when the glamorous German violin virtuoso and her Norwegian fellow musicians perform at the HK Cultural Centreís Concert Hall. Bartokís Divertimento for Strings and JS Bachís Violin Concerto No 2 in E also feature in the eveningís programme. The concert commences at 8pm. Tickets cost $1,180 to $200 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

June 6 and 7
Flamenco guitarist Esteban Antonio and pianist-composer Warren Wills will perform solo for at least one evening each in Hong Kong in early June but on June 6 and 7 they come together for two performances that will see the world launch of a revolutionary double-necked nylon acoustic guitar. The instrument features a harp and string section especially built to showcase Antonioís unique talents, particularly in pieces where classical and jazz meet flamenco. Showtime for the Light of Spain concert is 8pm both evenings. Tickets are $180 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

June 6-22
An influential film theorist and director, Sergei Eisenstein may have made less than 10 films in his life but among them Battleship Potemkin, the 1925 silent film written as political propaganda, became renowned for its groundbreaking montage techniques. That masterwork has, of course, been included in Repertory Cinema Programme 1: Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein that commemorates the 60th anniversary of the revolutionary Soviet directorís death and which will run from June 6 to 22. Tickets are $50 from URBTIX, 2734 9009. For more information (including about individual screening dates, times and venues), go to www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/filmprog/english/2008cinema/2008rc_index.html

June 7-8 and 13-18
Kelly Chen wasnít completely convincing as either a lover or fighter in the recent An Empress and The Warriors ñ but it wasnít for lack of trying. And try again the singer-actress ñ and erstwhile Beijing Olympic Torch Relay runner ñ seems intent on doing with the Kelly Chen Lover Fighters Concert 2008 series that now offers performances on June 7 and 8 in addition to its originally scheduled run of June 13 to 18. Showtime at the HK Coliseum is 8:15pm. Tickets are $480 to $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Sunday, June 8
This year, the special occasion variously known as Tuen Ng, Poetís Day and the Dragon Boat Festival falls on Sunday, June 8. Traditionally it commemorates the fatal leap into the Mi-Lo River of the patriotic minister-poet of the ancient Chinese Kingdom of Chíu but now it is also a day of dragon boat racing. Chief among the special regattas in Hong Kong on this public holiday is the Sun Life Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships organized by the Stanley Residents Association. Now in its 41st year, the event will once again bring excitement to Tai Tam Bay along Stanley Main Beach. Race time is from 8am to 6pm. Entrance is free for spectators. For more information, go to www.dragonboat.org.hk/en/home/homepage.html

June 11-14
Being a mime show, Heiquan Railway may not be as noisy as a train but that doesnít mean it wonít arouse much comment and laughter. The HeiQuan Theatreís inaugural production stars and is directed by Chiu Kin Tong and consists of seven stories, each with the MTR as its background. Designed to preserve the collective memory of the railways, the stories elicit humour and warmth by satirizing both the absurd situations we often find ourselves in on trains and some of the fellow passengers we are doomed to travel with. The show will run from June 11 to 14 at the Fringe Clubís Fringe Theatre. The performances begin at 8pm each evening. Tickets are $120 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.