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The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (July 6) officiated at the opening of the annual International Arts Carnival at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the annual summer arts festival runs from today to August 19, featuring over 400 events for family enjoyment.
Officiating at the opening ceremony, Mrs Lam said, "The Government attaches great importance to audience building in the arts and supports arts education. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department for one has been promoting arts in schools and the community through various arts education schemes, enabling primary and secondary school students to appreciate and experience the arts. These include the School Culture Day, the Arts Experience Scheme for Senior Secondary Students and the School Arts Animateur Scheme, which are well received by teachers and students alike."
She added, "In the new term of government, we will continue to strengthen arts education to raise the cultural literacy of our society and educate our young generation to value arts as a lifelong pursuit."
Opening the festival is the Hong Kong debut of a ballet spectacular, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", by the Estonian National Ballet. A visual feast combining captivating choreography with wonderful acting, remarkable dance skills, fireworks and video projections, the show is also one of the highlight cultural programmes to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is being performed from today to July 8 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. A limited number of tickets for box seats with restricted view are available for sale at the price of $150 at the box office of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre from 10am onwards on respective performance days. Each patron can purchase a maximum of two tickets per transaction on a first-come, first-served basis.
Other performances in the festival line-up include acrobatics, music, dance, magic, puppet theatre, multimedia theatre, musicals, theatre for toddlers, electroluminescent puppetry and physical comedy. Forums and films are also included in the programme, as well as extension activities such as the outdoor carnival "Fantasia of Tales Adventure", the summer fun party "Aloha! Summer Fiesta!", workshops, outreach performances, library and museum activities, exhibitions, cultural tours and a foyer demonstration.
Tickets are now available at URBTIX. Half-price tickets are available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and their minders, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Booking discounts of up to 20 per cent are available for full-price performing arts/film programmes.
The free outdoor carnival "Fantasia of Tales Adventure", featuring entertaining performances, a puppet parade, a bouncy castle and much more, will be held on July 7 and 8 between 4.30pm and 7.30pm at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza.
Programme brochures are available at URBTIX outlets or at the carnival website www.hkiac.gov.hk .
For programme enquiries, please call 2370 1044. Internet bookings are available at www.urbtix.hk and telephone credit card bookings can be made on 2111 5999.
Ends/Friday, July 6, 2012
Issued at HKT 20:40
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