Tag: The Great European Carnival

Saturday Night @ The Great European Carnival

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The rides are working, the games are open, the midways are full, it’s time to have fun!
Click on the photos to see more 

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This Week @ The AIA Great European Carnival

The AIA Great European Carnival

Star Performances, Live Entertainment and Community Events

The AIA Great European Carnival have announced an exciting schedule of entertainment, community engagement activities, and special guest performances that will take place over the coming weeks until the Carnival closes on February 22. The Carnival’s Live Stage will be the venue for many of the appearances which will range from professional, to youth group and school performances.

“Our aim has been to make the carnival and the Live Stage venue accessible to the entire Hong Kong Community, and in partnership with our Title Sponsor AIA, we are proud to provide an additional element of fun and entertainment to our event,” said Michael Denmark, CEO of The Great European Carnival.

“Many different groups have been given the opportunity to showcase their talents and we will witness a wide variety of entertainment from theatrical to dance and drama, Rock, Jazz and Folk. We want to see both seasoned performers as well as the stars of tomorrow. With performances in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, there is something for everyone in the Hong Kong public to enjoy,” added Mr Denmark.

A preview of some of the Performances:

Puss In Boots – Presented by The Hong Kong Players
The Hong Kong Players perform a traditional Christmas pantomime every year and have done so in Hong Kong for more than 50 years. Last year’s pantomime was Puss in Boots. The show’s setting is London: The once great city is in a sorry state: the bumbling Mayor Boris can’t keep control and the evil Queen of the Rats and her vermin followers are taking control. The only hope comes from an ancient prophesy says that when London is at it’s lowest ebb, an innocent stranger will arrive in town and save the day. His arrival will be signalled by the tolling of the bells. It’s up to our hero Puss in Boots to find this stranger and save London. Puss is joined in the fight to save the city by the very beautiful Alice, and the unstoppable great Dame, Sherry Trifle. Will Puss and Alice find the new mayor in time? Will Dame Trifle’s soufflé rise? Will the good guys triumph over the evil rats?

Puss in Boots
When: 2pm, 31 January, 2015; 4pm, 6pm, 1 February, 2015
Where: The Community Stage
How much: Free

Shelter Skelter – Presented by Shelterbox Charity
Taking place on January 31 from 4pm onwards, the Shelter Skelter is a line-up of some of Hong Kong’s best rock bands, brought together by ShelterBox, a Hong Kong Based charity that provides emergency shelter and vital supplies to support communities around the world overwhelmed by disaster and humanitarian crisis. Bands include The Bollands, Thinking Outloud, Shotgun Politics, LOGO, Sheperds the Weak, and the After Party. The aim of the day is to enjoy some of the best local music Hong Kong has to offer and raise awareness for this wonderful charity.

Shelter Skelter
When: 4pm, 31 January, 2015
Where: The Community Stage
How much: Free

VS Music Indie Festival
The VS Music Indie Festival will take place on Saturday 7 February and Sunday 8 February from 4pm until late. Sponsored by VS Music, the Indie music festival will feature up and coming performers from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Included in the line-up is Hey Rachel, Merry Go Round, Tri-dueces, Jabin Law, and Gravity Altestra.

VS Music Indie Festival
When: 7-8 February, 2015
Where: The Community Stage
How much: Free

Youth Performance Groups
Hong Kong youngsters are also given the opportunity to shine on the Carnival’s live stage with a number of song and dance performance groups treading the boards during the matinee shows (between 12noon-3pm) on the weekends. Confirmed already are

31 January – Twinkle Dance Company
1 February – Isla School of Dance
7 February – Island Dance
15 February – The Island Glee Club

The Welsh Male Voice Choir
The Welsh Male Voice choir will sing a selection of Valentine’s themed songs on Sunday the 15th of February at 6pm. The choir was started in 1978 by a small group of expatriates in Hong Kong and now includes some 70 members from a dozen different nations. Over the years they have performed on conventional and unconventional stages at home and overseas. An entirely amateur group, many of their performances are for charity.

The Welsh Male Voice Choir
When: 6pm, 15 February, 2015
Where: The Community Stage
How much: Free

This Week @ The AIA Great European Carnival

Hong Kong’s biggest outdoor carnival just got even bigger, with five more rides added to The AIA Great European Carnival this week, with more to come.

The AIA Great European Carnival takes on a new look this January as the Christmas wonderland theme makes way for its’ New Year incarnation – full of new attractions and some serious rides for the thrill-seekers amongst us. Included in the list of new additions are the No Limits (a maximum velocity spin and roll) and the Inversion XXL (another high-flying 360 degree ride). These join the Atmos Fear, Booster Max, and the Freak Out, which have already tested many of Hong Kong’s most bare-knuckled dare-devils.

We are thrilled to announce the opening of the Dodgem Cars, an all-time family favourite that came into operation this week. There are also several additional smaller rides for both children and the young at heart. There are six children’s rides for the 3 to 8 year old set, including the Gallopers (horse trail ride), Pony Express, and Kid Zone (Mini Miami – an introduction to a high flying ride for children). Plus there is a great variety of food and beverage outlets, all with their own European theme.

The AIA Great European CarnivalThe 14 rides currently in action include
Mach 5 (Booster Maxx)
Atmos Fear
Oblivion (Freak Out)
Gallopers
Cups N’ Sauces (Tea Cups)
Crazy Cars (Race-O-Rama)
Circuit 2000 (Formula)
Pony Express (Pony Adventure)
KidZone (Mini Miami)
Dodgems (Top Gear)
No Limit
Mini Paratrooper
Inversion XXL
Stage Coach

In January, the Carnival will also see more entertainment on the Live Stage with bands, choirs, and a wide variety youth performances. In addition local and international schools will visit the Carnival on educational excursions, and Hong Kong-based charities will also get a chance for their beneficiaries and volunteers to enjoy a big day out.

Expect more changes ahead as the Carnival moves into February and we approach Chinese New Year and the venue evolves once again. The finale of this wonderful winter event will be on 22 February.

There is a ride for everyone at The AIA Great European Carnival, so grab your friends and family and come on down!

Content sponsored by The AIA Great European Carnival

This Week @ The AIA Great European Carnival

Battle of the Bands

The largest Battle of the Bands competition Hong Kong has ever seen kicks off this week at The AIA Great European Carnival, with over 100 bands from the SAR entered.  You can expect to see a wide variety of musical genres from folk, to indie, alternative, rock, punk and heavy metal. The bands will also play in a variety of languages, including Cantonese, Mandarin, English, French and more.

Bands will compete in the first rounds every Thursday and Friday evening at the Carnival’s Live Stage and are each given the opportunity to play two songs within an eight minute period. There are two categories including the Students (performing from 4-6pm) and Open (6pm-9pm). The Semi Finals will take place on 5th and 6th of February and the Final will take place on Friday the 13th of February.

Supported by The AIA Great European Carnival, the event is organised by The Underground and is also sponsored by Parson’s Music. Parson’s Music was established in 1986 and is one of the leading and most prestigious multinational musical companies in both Mainland China and Hong Kong. Parsons have their own production line for a wide range of cool musical instruments (pianos, guitars, percussion, string & wind instruments), a strong retail network and well-found music centres for educating music talents.

Prizes include an opportunity to perform in front of the music industry’s top agents, producers, and labels at Music Matters the leading global music industry conference, which is organised by Hong Kong based company Branded Asia. Other prizes include recording time with Sammy So (from the band Kolor) and Jon Lee (This Music Studio) as well as Parson’s coupons and trophies for the champion bands.

The event is one of the many entertainment activities taking place at the Carnival in amongst some thrilling death-defying rides, challenging games, and great food and beverage. For more information on this event and what else is happening at the Carnival visit www.tgec.asia.

Sponsored editorial: The AIA Great European Carnival

The Great European Carnival Opens Today, Sort Of…

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For the next 60 days Hong Kong’s harbourfront event space hosts the ‘Great European Carnival’ and to give it’s CEO Micheal Denmark his due – it has potential. There’s plenty of games with lots of stuffed animals and toys to win, a lovely outdoor ice skating rink, a beer tent, a community stage, food (most food stands were closed on the media tour so we can’t comment on the quality of the food) and rides…

And here’s where the problems start, the rides. There are plans for between 25 and 30 rides of all shapes and styles for adults and children alike. On the media tour, none were open – not even the most basic slide. The bumper cars were quiet, the ghosts of the Haunted House under arrest for shopping in Mong Kok… A couple of interesting looking rides were being tested, but most were still awaiting construction.

I know from spending three years working on a traveling carnival in the United States that good carnies can erect or tear-down a ride pretty fast – but these are international rides and new to Hong Kong and getting them safety checked and licensed appears to be complicated. It’s good that government is ensuring the rides are safe, but when they ask “What happens when two bumper cars hit each other…”

10 rides are scheduled to be working today, opening day – but with unbuilt and un-opened rides dotting the midway, the carnival looks like what it is, a work in progress, which is a shame.

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Entry costs $125 which includes 10 tokens. Games and rides use tokens – which cost $10 each. All food and beverage is cash only. There don’t appear to be any ATM’s on site. Don’t like waiting, there’s a fast track entry and ride band which costs $600.

The carnival can hold around 12,000 at any time, so at busy times, expect to queue. As I said earlier, the carnival has potential lets hope the organisers can get it fully up and running as quickly as possible, because really, there’s nothing like a day at the fair.

Great European Carnival
When: 11am – 11pm, 23 December, 2014 – 22 February, 2015
Where: New Central Harbour Front
How Much: $125
More info: www.tgec.asia 

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