Our round-up of not-to-be-missed June events. Mark your calendars now…
7 June
Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival – or Tuen Ng Festival for the more authentically inclined – is set to make its annual splash in June. This year, the event, which must now be well past its 2,000th iteration, will once again commemorate the death of Qu Yuan, a poet and politician from times BC who was banished for protesting against the authorities. While, in light of the parlous state of the modern world, it was something of a vain sacrifice, this will do little to deter sundry teams from embarking on a day of spectacular dragon boat racing.
Multiple locations
www.discoverhongkong.com
7 June
Luna Sea – 30th Anniversary Live Special
Luna Sea, the legendary Japanese rockers, are set to celebrate their 30th anniversary with a special live concert at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo next month. Unlike the rest of their pan-Asia dates, the band’s Hong Kong and Bangkok gigs are set to be given over to special commemorative performances that will take fans back on a stunning, nostalgia-tinged romp through the group’s fabulous first three decades. So, in the unlikely event that the punningly-named Land of the Rising Sun songsmiths are Your Thing, this is one night you shouldn’t miss.
AsiaWorld-Expo, Lantau Island, HK$580–1,989
www.premier.hkticketing.com
8 June
Ginsanity Hong Kong 2019
A festival has, arguably, never been more aptly named than Ginsanity, a clearly bonkers one-day celebration of all things gin, which will see more than 40 different takes on the spirit on offer to Hongkongers at PMQ. If that wasn’t incentive enough to embark on a day of all-out debauchery, the organisers are also promising live music, novel entertainment and uncompromising eco-friendliness – as if anyone is going to notice by the time their fifth mid-morning G&T hits home. You can also grab a bite or two from such eminent eateries as the Three Blind Mice or Sausage Commitment, or even – heaven forbid – knock back a beer courtesy of the Black Kite Brewery.
PMQ, 35 Aberdeen St, Central. Free entry or HK$250 for VIP entry
www.ginsanity.hk
8 June
Atul Khatri — Back in HK
Acclaimed Indian comedian Atul Khatri is back to tickle a rib or two in Hong Kong this month, marking his first visit since his three sold-out 2017 shows. Fresh from appearing on Comedians of the World, a Netflix all-chuckle special, the Mumbai-born funnyman once again will be rolling out the unique brand of abrasive amusement that saw him graduate from a workaday IT job to becoming India’s most intriguing comedy export. With such topics as immigration, marriage and the modern-day perils that await a 40+ bloke said to be in his sights, few aisles are sure to be unrolled in.
Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai. HK$250–440
www.ticketflap.com
13-16 June
Evolution Asia Yoga Conference
The annual event for every lithe-limbed, spiritually-reflective souls in the wider region, this year’s Asia Yoga Conference is set to shake things up with a more diverse schedule than ever before. As a result, you may well find yourself stretching out alongside like-minded yogis from across the ASEAN bloc, with a choice of more than 165 workshops and classes from an international coterie of instructors. Whether you’ve been rolling out that mat for years or this is the first time you’ve downward face-dogged in public, there’s sure to be something to chafe your chakras.
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Dr, Wan Chai. HK$800–5,990
www.asiayogaconference.com
13 June-4 Aug
Chinese Opera Festival 2019
One of Hong Kong’s most celebrated cultural cavalcades – the Chinese Opera Festival – will once again be bringing all things Asia-related to the Fragrant Harbour for a seven-week run kicking off mid-month. This year, audiences will be engrossed in a 10th anniversary programme that includes such undoubted highlights as a wholly-new Cantonese opera – A Love Poem Stained with Blood – as well as one or two long-time favourites, most notably Peking Opera Masters North and South.
Grand Theatre and Tea House Theatre, Xiqu Centre, 88 Austin Road West, TST. HK$180–480
www.cof.gov.hk
14 June
Iliza in Asia Hong Kong Live
After four Netflix specials and numerous television and film appearances, American comedienne Iliza Shlesinger will be making her long-anticipated debut in Hong Kong in June. Rejoicing in her reputation as one of the world’s most raucous stand-ups, Shlesinger has been on something of a riotous roll since her first special – War Paint – became a stand-out streaming smash. The youngest and first woman to win the Last Comic Standing talent show, she has made a career out of walking a fine line between her quirky take on feminism and fabulously funny flirtation with such 21st-century taboos as race and gender roles.
KITEC, 1 Trademart Dr, Kowloon Bay. HK$488–688
www.livenation.hk
28-29 June
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Like a sort of toddler-friendly Tolkien, C.S. Lewis has enchanted generations with his tales of talking lions, wicked winter-loving witches and wardrobes with secret worlds within, now the book that began it all back in 1950 – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – has been transformed into a truly theatrical experience and is set to delight Hong Kong audiences with a late-month two-day run. So, come and see the story where it all started in a whole new medium, complete with friendly fauns, evil giants, bold beavers and bewildered Brit brothers and sisters, destined to become kings and queens of the magical land known only as Narnia.
Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai. HK$200–280
www.ticketflap.com