Category: Social Calendar

What to see and wear this November in Hong Kong

foals - band playing at Clockenflap

CLOCKENFLAP MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL

This year’s Clockenflap lineup sees the legendary Chemical Brothers headlining, arguably backed by the three-day festival’s most eclectic musical mix to date. Lovers of indie, funk, post-rock, raprave, reggae and more will all find something to tap their toes to.

Sharing the spotlight with the headliners will be Sigur Rós, an Icelandic band best known for its ethereal sound, and Foals, the English indie-rockers. Every year, Clockenflap – first staged in 2008 – seems to get a little bigger.

This year, the event relocates from its longtime home of the West Kowloon Cultural District to the Central Harbourfront space.

It’s not all about the music, though. Art exhibits and a variety of performances are also promised, all designed to amuse, perplex and intrigue viewers.

Venue: Central Harbourfront
Date: 25-27 November
Enquiries: Online submission
Website: http://www.clockenflap.com/

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DOCTOR STRANGE

The latest addition to Marvel’s cinematic universe, Doctor Strange tells the story of a famous neurosurgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) who makes some startling mystical discoveries after he loses the ability to use his hands in a car accident.

Venue: Cinemas HK-wide
Date: Now in theatres
Enquiries: N/A
Website: marvel.com/movies/movie/220/doctor_strange

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RIHANNA’S FENTY PUMA COLLECTION

Divas and stylistas who have long dreamed of walking in Rihanna’s shoes now have their chance to take a glam class in Rockstar 101. The Barbadian-born singer has teamed up with Puma to create the Fenty clothing and shoe collection, now set to land in Hong Kong. The D-Mop shop, in Causeway Bay’s Fashion Walk, will host the city’s first pop-up Fenty Puma store – an exclusive event with the promise of free-flow wine. High-heel leather sneakers, lace-up corsets and kimono track jackets are all among the bold items in this rebellious collection.

For the “work, work, working” woman who likes to run errands in style, fur sandals in four incandescent colours are among the hottest items on Puma’s website. Men’s items in the collection, meanwhile, include a zip-up sneaker boot with a platform midsole, and a suede sneaker with a platform “creeper” sole.

Venue: D-Mop, Shop 3, G/F, 2-4 Kingston St, Fashion Walk, Causeway Bay
Date: 7 November, 6-9 pm
Enquiries: 2505 8982
Website: http://www.d-mop.com/eng/index.php

Spooky shenanigans: Top 4 Halloween parties in Hong Kong

Seeing a constant stream of drunk ghouls on their way to spooky parties can only mean one thing: it’s Halloween.

The yearly night of revelry and fancy dress is nearly upon us, but where are the best parties to flaunt your witch’s costume and get your monster mash on?

Luckily Gafencu is here to help if you are still unsure about where to go this weekend.

We have selected the four best Halloween parties in Hong Kong to be seen at, dead or alive.

Witch’s House Halloween Party at Dada Bar + Lounge

The Luxe Manor in Tsim Sha Tsui is hosting a dark party for evil witches.

The entertainment venue on Knutsford Terrace will turn into a haunted house on Saturday, which is the perfect place for you and your coven to meet and sample the ghoulish cocktails (HK$90) and dance to the live band.

There will also be a makeup artist on hand just in case your scary look needs a quick touch up.

Venue: Dada Bar + Lounge, the Luxe Manor, 39 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
Date: 29 October
Time: 8pm till late
Entrance fee: HK$200 per person, includes one drink.
Reservations: (852) 3763 8778

 

Shipwrecked Halloween Party at Armani/Prive

With a nautical take on Halloween, the Armani/Prive rooftop bar in Central is hosting a Shipwrecked Party on 29 October.

The bar’s biggest event of 2016 will cover both floors, with the rooftop acting as a chill-out area and the first floor — or lower deck as they call it — acting as the dance venue where the lost souls can party the night away.

Venue: Armani/Prive, Landmark Chater (Chater House), 8 Connaught Road, Central.
Date: 29 October
Time: 10pm-3am
Entrance fee: HK$450, includes 2 drinks
Tickets: Fatsoma

 

The Pawn Ripper’s Sanatorium Halloween Party

The Pawn in Wanchai will turn into a hospital with 3 different themed rooms this Halloween.

The Ripper’s Sanatorium, which is a much more sinister sounding word than hospital, will be held on the first floor Botanicals Bar with cocktails served in blood bags and syringes.

Guests can enjoy their blood bag cocktail at a surgical table or one of the other hospital props at the party.

There will also be makeup artists, Halloween nibbles, best dressed prizes and different concoctions sponsored by Belvedere.

Venue: The Pawn, 62 Johnston Road Wan Chai
Date: 29 October
Time: 9pm till midnight
Entrance fee: HK$160 advance ticket. HK$199 at the door
Tickets: Ticketflap

 

Dead Not Alive Halloween Party

The ever-popular Dead Not Alive Halloween Party is back for its 9th year and will be held at Hullett House. And costumes are mandatory.

Undoubtedly one of Hong Kong’s sexiest parties, Dead Not Alive is taking over the luxury boutique hotel and restaurant and transforming it into a haunted party, including a haunted dungeon in the building’s historic Mariners’ Rest jail cells.

Dancers and models in costumes will roam among the guests and there will also be a special 3-course dinner and party package

Japanese hip hop act M-Flo will headline the party and perform in the main courtyard.

Venue: Hullett House, 1881 Heritage, 2A Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
Date: 29 October
Time: 8pm till late
Entrance fee: HK$600 advance ticket, includes 2 drinks. HK$800 at the door, includes 2 drinks.
Tickets: Alivenotdead

Get in the Thanksgiving spirit with a turkey feast at Lily & Bloom’s

Turkey Day, or Thanksgiving as it is more popularly known, is a national holiday in the United States and Canada which dates back to a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, when the English pilgrims first feasted with local Native Americans after a particularly successful harvest.

Thanksgiving now, however, involves overeating, watching the Macy’s parade, a presidential turkey pardon and eating the turkeys the president overlooked in the pardon.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Hong Kong is not quite the same as in the US or Canada but there are still plenty of places that serve an authentic meal.

Lily & Bloom’s, for example, is offering a Thanksgiving Family Feast set that serves five to six people and costs HK$2650 to eat in the restaurant or HK$2200 to take-away from 21 November till 4 December.

Organic Whole American Heritage Turkey will be served with Giblet Gravy and a Fresh Cranberry Sauce. Accompanying the turkey are sides of Sausage and Sage Stuffing, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Truffle Mashed Potato, Creamed Spinach and Maple Sweet Potato Mashed. To top off the meal is a homemade Pumpkin Pie.

For people with a smaller waistline or fewer friends, Lily & Bloom’s also offers a Thanksgiving three-course set dinner over the same period.

Thanksgiving is on 24 November this year.

Longines Masters set to jump into Hong Kong early next year

After prancing into Los Angeles and Paris, indoor show jumping is coming to Hong Kong next year.

The Longines Masters Series in Hong Kong is a show jumping event created by Belgium-based equestrian sport promoters EEM and uniquely combines world-class showjumping with entertainment, glamour, gastronomy and contemporary art.

The final leg of the Longines Masters is being held in a region where the popularity of show jumping continues to rise after the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.

Visitors to the event can watch speed races, dressage demonstrations, a polo cup and show jumping contests.

The Longines Masters also has the Prestige Village where guests can enjoy live music, prominent contemporary art and watch the riders and horses practice before the events.

The Longines Masters will be held from 10 to 12 February 2017 at the Asia-World Expo.

For more information, visit The Longines Masters of Hong Kong website.

Corona Sunsets Festival on the horizon

Mexican beer brand Corona is bringing its Sunsets Festival to Hong Kong on 6 November. Corona will dump a truckload of sand underneath the Hong Kong Observation Wheel to convert the area into a one-day beach festival.

Sunsets Festival will feature acoustic and lounge music, local arts and crafts souvenirs, snacks, and some exclusive Corona cocktails.

Corona’s plan is to get busy Hong Kongers to let their hair down and enjoy themselves with friends on the man-made beach. To help get people into the hippy/sunset mood, the event will have face painting and mandala tattoo stalls, and a group of Sunset Goddesses will perform some sort of dance ritual.

Venue: The Hong Kong Observation Wheel

Date: 6 November

Website: www.coronasunsetshk.com/en

Colonial cuisine

With the looming possibility of neo-colonialism from China, the Envoy has decided to take a step back to a time when the British ruled Hong Kong.

The Envoy, which is a cocktail bar and dining room on the 3rd floor of the Pottinger Hotel, is paying tribute to the person the hotel is named after, Sir Henry Pottinger, with a colonial-inspired brunch.

Sir Henry Pottinger was the first governor of Hong Kong from 1843-1844 and he helped transform the city into a major trading port.

The imaginatively titled Sunday Colonial Brunch features delectable dishes such as fish and chips made with a marsala batter, chili salsa in the scallop and cereal prawns and butter chicken waffles. Diners can also enjoy classics like a traditional roast, eggs benedict and steak and egg.

Venue: 3/F, The Pottinger, 74 Queen’s Road, Central

Enquiries: info@theenvoy.hk

Website: www.theenvoy.hk

Reach out to classical music

Classical music isn’t really everyone’s cup of tea and it certainly isn’t that popular among the youth of today, especially when they can be out chasing Pokemon.

However, Premiere Performances is trying to change that by hosting a public performance by the Curtis Institute of Music and Grammy winner Jason Vieaux, on 7 October at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Concert Hall.

The concert is part of Premiere Performances extensive classical musical outreach programme which attracts international acts and rising stars to play for Hong Kong audiences.

The visiting groups also give concerts, seminars and workshops in schools.

The Curtis Institute will perform at HKUST on 8 October, and then to underprivileged children in Tin Shui Wai and Nam Cheong on 9 October before concluding their visit with a concert and talk at Asia Society on 10 October.

Venue: Concert Hall, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
Date: Friday 7 October
Time: 8:00 pm
Website: http://www.pphk.org/concerts/recitals/curtis-tour/

Spartan Race Hong Kong

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For the very first time, Hong Kong will play host to the Spartan Race, a pioneering leader in the sport of obstacle racing. Brought to you by the Hybrid Group, the event is a truly unique racing fixture and one definitely not for the faint of heart. Now open for applications for anyone bold enough to believe they are in with a shot, the winner will receive US$15,000 and will be eligible to compete in the 2016 World Championships, set to be held at North Lake Tahoe’s Squaw Valley Resort in the US. The prizes for second and third place will be US$10,000 and US$5,000 respectively, so it’s well worth getting a bit of training in.

Overall, two categories are available to entrants – Elite or Open. As its title suggests, the Elite category is open to athletes competing for the prize money, willing to test themselves against the very best and hoping to attract potential sponsors.
The Open category, meanwhile, is for anyone and is aimed at weekend warriors and fitness freaks looking to break out of their comfort zones and push themselves to their very limits of speed and endurance.

Venue: Kam Tin Country Club
Date: 5-6 November
Enquiries: 2388 0002
Website: spartanrace.hk

Oktoberfest – German Bierfest at the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel

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An annual event that really needs no re-introduction, the Marco Polo Hotel’s German Bierfest is one of the most popular elements of Hong Kong’s German-style Oktoberfest. As its name suggests there is no shortage of beer at this particular event, although there’s a host of other German culinary delights – including pretzels and pork knuckles.

Leading the proceedings, of course, will be a German Oompa band, ably guiding revellers through the delights of chicken dancing and sundry other challenges. It’s a great spectacle and both the band and the beer are sure to get you up and moving and laughing at the absurdity of it all, while you soak in the atmosphere and sip cold beer from an authentic German stein.

While there is no official dress code, gents in lederhosen will definitely win prestige points, as will ladies sporting a dirndl. After all, if you are going to make a complete fool of yourself doing the chicken dance, then you may as well be dressed appropriately.

Venue: Level 6, Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui
Date: 21 October–12 November
Enquiries: 2113 3217
Website: www.hkticketing.com/events/TSMARCO1016

Fine Art Asia – Asia’s leading international fine art fair

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On an avowed mission to cement Hong Kong’s reputation as Asia’s premier creative hub is this month’s Fine Art Asia Fair. Recognised internationally as the event of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region, every year it showcases museum-quality art works spanning an impressive 5,000 years of cultural history, featuring everything from ancient Chinese bronzes to contemporary art.

Now in its tenth year, the event has attracted an ever-increasing number of international galleries. While Hong Kong is no stranger to art fairs, Fine Art Asia distinguishes itself with its varied array of collectible fine art from both Asia and the wider Western world.

This year, the fair is once again playing host to some of the most renowned names in the international art world with an enviable range of antiques, Old Master paintings, impressionist and modern art, jewellery and Chinese ink paintings. Sure to have something that will appeal to everyone, the Fine Art Fair is an event not to be missed and is for bona fide art lovers, as well as those just curious to learn a little more about both classic and contemporary art.

Venue: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
Date: 2-5 October
Enquiries: 3107 0681
Website: www.fineartasia.com