Wednesday, June 30, 2010

UNESCO World Heritage Celebration : 1st to 31st July 2010

George Town is celebrating its 2nd anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 7th July 2010. A month-long "George Town Festival" is inaugurated in conjunction with this year's celebration, featuring over 80 programs throughout the month of July! This is a concerted effort to promote ARTS and HERITAGE in Penang by the Penang State Government, Municipal Council of Penang Island, George Town World Heritage Incorporated and Penang Global Tourism.
Scheduled to be an annual event, George Town Festival opens as a feast of theatre, music, dance, film, arts, food, fashion, photography, inspirational talk and visual spectacle on the streets. By bringing together different artistic communities from local and abroad-schools, amateur groups, cultural groups, professional performers-George Town Festival thus becomes the stage for local and international artistic exchange. It is a guarantee to treat the audiences with both traditional and contemporary artistic trends from around George Town.
George Town Festival also offers creative practitioners and educators and business operators opportunities to create new works and dialogues within the context of heritage George Town. With an approximate reach-out of 200,000 people, the festival will help to promote your works to a big pool of local and international audiences.
George Town Festival promises a fiesta of ARTS and HERITAGE!


KEY HIGHLIGHTS

1. STREETS COME ALIVE – “ UNFORGETTABLE”
Date: 7th July 2010
Type: Street Celebrations
Venue: George Town Heritage Core zone

To commemorate the 2nd anniversary of George Town inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, indulge yourself in a whole day street celebration by the local multi ethnic communities of Penang - International performers, Malay, Indian, Chinese, Burmese, Eurasian, Thai, Punjabi and many more.
• • • •
traditional games, food and crafts cultural dances and musical performances featuring Ghaffar Pourazar and Chie Morimura, from BEIJING OPERA (CHINA) Special show from Medan, Indonesia

GHAFFAR POURAZAR & CHIE MORIMURA – BEIJING OPERA
World renowned Director of Beijing Opera Ghaffar Pourazar will be performing excerpts from his repertoire of “the MONKEY GOD” with Chie Morimura.

Heritage “Trea-Shaw” Hunt (8am-1pm)
Hop on a trishaw! Experience this fun and exciting way of searching and scouting for our rich heritage treasures ranging from foods, costumes, trades, to local personalities and heritage buildings.

Open House
Public and Private Heritage Buildings (9am-5pm)
Welcome to the built jewels of George Town! Free entrance to more than heritage buildings which are restricted to visitors on normal days such as Town Hall, City Hall and many more.
George Town Shophouse Trail (9am-1pm)
12 well-maintained and restored heritage shophouses open for viewing! Register to be one of the privileged participants to enjoy this rare guided heritage shophouse trail. Visit some of the finest residential and commercial shophouses in town and learn more about this unique built heritage of Penang.

2. Special screening of films SHOT IN PENANG
Date: 31 July 2010
Type: Film Screening
Venue: Wawasan Open University

THE BLUE MANSION
With special appearance by director Glen Goei
RED KEBAYA
Directed by Oliver Knott, Ramli Hassan as main actor

3.Other highlights
EMILY OF EMERALD HILL
Date: 1, 2, 4th July 2010
Type: Theatre
Venue: Town Hall
Malaysia’s foremost film director Saw Teong Hin (Puteri Gunung Ledang) directing Emily of Emerald Hill with Neo Swee Lin, Pearlly Chua and Leow Puay Tin. This production will be the first time of the part of Emily is played by 3 actresses on the same stage. This dinner theatre will be at our historically elegant Town Hall and for that evening will be totally transformed to a grand dining room by Malaysian artist and set designer, Liew Kung Yu.

4. Date: 28 July 2010
Types: Indian Classical Dance
Venue: Dewan Sri Pinang
Ramli Ibrahim and Sutra Dance Company bring to Penang the well acclaimed, part of World Tour dance production- Vision of Forever. ‘Vision of Forever’ is an Odissi production of the highest caliber exemplifying works of the late Odissi pioneer Guru—Deba Prasad Das. Artistic director Ramli Ibrahim is unapologetic in his forthcoming of the spiritual depth of the complex psyche of India. ‘Vision of Forever’ unleashes powerful images from the Shaivite and Tantric traditions.

5. Street Opera by Japanese soprano RANKO KURANO
Date: 29 & 30 July
Types: Street Opera
Venue: Stewart Lane, George Town
Winner of Japan singing competition for Wagner Voice and Special Prize International Singing Competition Wagner Voice (Bayreuth and Saarbrucken Germany). Ranko will be singing excerpt of famous Arias against the backdrop of inner city of George Town.

6. PUBLICARTInstallation
Date: 7th – 31st July
Type: Installation Art
Venue: streets in George Town
Internationally acclaimed homegrown artists will be bringing their masterpieces to the streets! See how their creations in different mediums bring new interpretation to the heritage environment of George Town.
Installation art by New York based Malaysian artist Leon Lim, “The Last Chairs” at Lebuh Union and
Penang based Glass installation artist - Fuan Wong “Dream Ficus” at Chulia Lane.

7.GEORGE TOWN BALL featuring PATRIZIO BUANNE
Date : 11th July
Type :Music
Venue: E&O Hotel
Italian heartthrob, new International sensation Patrizio Buanne will perform at the George Town Ball. Currently on a world tour to promote his latest release “PATRIZIO”.

8.GOVERNORS OF PENANG
Date: 7th -17 July 2010
Type: Exhibition
Venue: Town Hall
An exhibition on 200 years of Governors of Penang, from archive materials by Mr. Winson Saw showing the early history of first Superintendent - Captain Francis Light to the last Governor of Penang.

9. Showcase of MALAY CULTURE & ARTS
Date: 3 July 2010
Type: Cultural Events
Venue: Jawi Peranakan Museum at Hutton Lane
Showcase of Malay culture and arts including Bangsawan at Jawi Peranakan Museum organized by PEMENANG Penang.
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