Happenings & Events! Stuff To Know In April

Actions Sprint Trail Run, Dbay

Now’s the time to grab your spot in the Action Sprint Trail Run, DBay being organised by Action Asia Events on May 19. The race starts and finishes in DB Plaza, and there’s a choice of two distances — 9km solo (3.5-hour cut-off, 14 years and up) and 12km solo (4.5-hour cut-off, 16 years and up). The DB Sprint takes competitors off the main trails on an adventure trail route, along ocean coastlines and beaches, with a mountain climb (Lo Fu Tau) on the 12km course. To enrol, visit www.actionasiaevents.com. [PHOTO COURTESY OF Action Asia Events.]

Reverse Vending In The Plaza

Check out the new Vitasoy Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) beside Fusion in DB Plaza, where you can insert your empty plastic beverage bottles to receive rewards. On inputting your phone number, you receive a message on your phone, which allows you to create an account at www.rewards.vitasoy.com.hk. Accumulate 10 Recycle E-stamps and you can redeem a HK$2 voucher to put towards the purchase of any Vitasoy beverage, or opt to have Vitasoy donate HK$3 to St James Settlement Jockey Club Upcycling Centre.

French May Arts Festival

French May Arts Festival has been showcasing fine art, music, theatre, dance, film and gastronomy in Hong Kong since 1993. With more than 100 cultural activities presented from May to June, French May attracts more than one million visitors, all keen to view the latest exhibitions and performances coming out of France. French May aims to reach out not only to Hong Kong’s French community but to the community at large, making it a true cultural exchange.

Among the highlights of this year’s festival are two original theatre productions – Nicolas Kerszenbaum’s Good Fortune, showing May 10 to 11 at Hong Kong City Hall, and Wu Hoi Fai’s Pas de deux à Hong Kong, showing May 31 to June 2 at Sheung Wan Civic Centre. The performances mark the final phase of a two-year Hong Kong-France theatre exchange project, ‘Let the Mirror Speak’. Both plays were developed using material collected through interviews and observation during the playwright-directors’ respective residencies in Hong Kong and Paris.

Kerszenbaum’s Good Fortune is set in Kowloon, 2024, on the last night of the Hungry Ghost Festival. Ostensibly focused on three, multigenerational Hongkongers, who challenge fate and attempt to alter their life’s course, Good Fortune is a work of magical realism in which Kerszenbaum sets out to predict the entire city’s future, summoning the supernatural as his guide. In Pas de deux à Hong Kong, Wu reexamines the place he grew up from the perspective of French Hong Kong residents. His quest leads to many questions: what exactly does it mean to be French? At what point does one become a Hongkonger?

During French May, Kerszenbaum and Wu are hosting a series of meet-the-artist sessions, salons and drama workshops to share their creative processes and experiences. To find out more and book tickets, visit www.frenchmay.com. [PHOTO COURTESY OF French May Arts Festival.]

Ban On Single-Use Plastics

The first phase of the Environmental Protection Department’s ban on single-use plastics comes into effect on April 22, Earth Day. Banned items include umbrella bags, cotton buds, glow sticks, polystyrene food containers and plastic cutlery and straws. Residents should note that in DB we only collect plastic bottles in our plastic recycling bins. Hard-to-recycle items, like plastic film and polyfoam, need to be taken to the government-funded Green@Community collection point, open on Tuesdays from 10am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 5.30pm at the Green Icon@DB.

The Sound Of Music

The global tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s award-winning Broadway musical The Sound of Music is in town from April 16 to June 9 at the Grand Theatre, Xiqu Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District. The Sound of Music is celebrating its 65th Anniversary this year, having won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and the Grammy for Best Show Album, for its original run. To find out more, visit www.broadwayasia.com. To book tickets, visit www.soundofmusichk.com; to win a pair of tickets, turn to page 14. [PHOTO COURTESY OF Broadway International Group.]

Proverse Spring Reception

Long-term DB residents Dr Gillian Bickley and Dr Verner Bickley, MBE are hosting the Proverse Spring Reception at the Helena May in Central on April 25 at 7.00pm. You can join them for cocktail-style mixing and mingling, a canapés buffet and cash bar, and expect literary prize announcements and awards, poetry readings and writers’ speeches (both in person and remotely). Books scheduled to be launched include Mingled Voices 8: The International Proverse Poetry Prize Anthology, 2023. Prior registration is essential at proversehongkong.files.wordpress. com/2024/02/proverse_spring_2024_reply_form-plus_book_order_form.pdf. [PHOTO COURTESY OF Proverse Hong Kong.]

Affordable Art Fair

Mark your diaries for the Affordable Art Fair, back in Hong Kong for the 11th time from May 16 to 19. You can expect to see thousands of contemporary artworks on display at Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, all priced from HK$1,000 to HK$100,000. This year, Gallery Jeeum (DB) will again be participating, as will DB-based artist Eleanor McColl. To find out more and grab tickets, visit www.affordableartfair.com. [PHOTO COURTESY OF Affordable Art Fair.]

Tie The Knot At Regala Skycity Hotel

Looking to celebrate your special day in style? Regala Skycity Hotel’s Grand Ballroom provides a stunning setting for either a Western, or traditional Chinese round-table wedding, and you can opt to exchange your vows on the beautiful sky deck. The wedding package comes with tempting extras, including one-night’s stay in a deluxe suite, a welcome fruit punch and a 3lb cream cake. To find out more, scan the QR code, call 3556 3288, email [email protected] or visit www.regala-hotels.com/en/ regala-skycity-hotel. [PHOTO COURTESY OF Regala Skycity Hotel.]

Join A Youth Flag Football Class

Hong Kong China American Football League is providing an introduction to Flag Football on April 27, with classes held at DB North Sport Pitch. Flag football has been added to the Olympic programme for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, and this is young DBers’ chance to find out what’s involved. To know more and enrol, visit Facebook @Dynamic DB.

Memory Trace Of Western Chamber

Part of this year’s SPOTLIGHT: A Season of Performing Arts, Memory Trace of Western Chamber is showing from April 18 to 20 at the JC Cube, Tai Kwun. In an eagerly awaited return to the stage, esteemed dance artist Elsie Chau Kam Ngai partners with choreographer Ong Yong Lock and dramaturg Mann Chan to deliver a soul-searching solo performance that reimagines personal experiences as scenes from a classic Chinese romance. To book tickets, visit www.art-mate.net or scan the QR code. [PHOTO COURTESY OF Unlock Dancing Plaza.]

DB Dog Fun Day

Bring your pooch to Central Park on April 13, from 1pm to 6pm, to take part in a DB Dog Fun Day. You can expect seminars provided by pet professionals, market stalls manned by pet retailers and an adoption corner, as well as competitions for your fourlegged friends to take part in. To find out more, visit Facebook @Dynamic DB.

Guidepost Montessori Open House

At Guidepost Montessori Open House on April 20, you can learn more about Guidepost’s high-fidelity Montessori programmes that foster independence in children aged up to six years old. You can also walk around the school’s beautiful prepared environments and meet the DB campus team. Exclusive offers for Guidepost Summer Camps and school programmes will be available for attendees. To sign up to attend, visit guidepost.hk/news-events/events. [PHOTO COURTESY OF Guidepost Montessori.]