Events galore at anniversary festival

Events galore at anniversary festival

GEORGE Town will be full of excitement and cultural activities during the George Town Festival 2010 next month.

The one-month-long inaugural festival will be held to celebrate the second anniversary of George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“We hope to showcase the unique diversity of our culture and heritage. We want to transform George Town into an Asia cultural city.

“We are a small island with big ambitions. We hope people of all walks of life will join us in the festival,” he told reporters after attending the media announcement of George Town Festival at JW Marriott Hotel in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Festival director Joe Sidek said the festival would feature over 80 programmes with the participation of 400 performers to promote arts and heritage in Penang.

“One of the highlights of the event is the street celebration titled Streets Come Alive Unforgettable George Town on July 7,” he said.

People should not miss out the Chinese opera performance by international acclaimed Beijing opera performer Ghaffar Pourazar, he said.

He said there would be film screenings of movies shot in Penang including The Blue Mansion and Red Kebaya with appearances by directors Glen Goei and Ramli Hassan.

Other highlights include public installation art by New York-based Malaysian artist Leon Lim and Penang-based artist Fuan Wong, the theatre production of Emily of Emerald Hill directed by Malaysia’s film director Saw Teong Hin, the dance performance Vision of Forever, a classical Indian dance by Ramli Ibrahim and Sutra Dance Company as well as a street opera performance by Japanese soprano Rankpo Kurano. For details, log on to www.georgetownfestival.com or contact 016-4644211.

-News courtesy of The Star-