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A huge 67-metre fire dragon will parade through the streets of Tai Hang this Mid-Autumn Festival.
Covered with 72,000 burning incense sticks and carried by nearly 300 performers, the dragon will bring colour and a carnival atmosphere to the festive celebrations.
Organised by the Tai Hang Residents' Welfare Association, the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance takes place on three days from September 18 to 20 and is a highlight event of the "Hong Kong: Our Home" Campaign this week.
On September 18, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Ormsby Street at about 7.30pm, the fire dragon will dance through the streets and lanes of Tai Hang and wind its way to the last stop at Wun Sha Street at about 10.30pm.
On the evening of September 19 the fire dragon will roam into the Causeway Bay area to greet revellers at the 2013 Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival at Victoria Park.
The fire dragon dance was first staged in the 1880s in the hope of stopping a plague in Tai Hang Village. The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance was inscribed onto the Third National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011.
For further information, please visit www.taihangfiredragon.hk. For enquiries, please call 2577 2649.
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Also on September 19, from 7pm to 11.30pm, the Southern District Tourism and Culture Festival Organising Committee will celebrate the Mid-autumn Fire Dragon Festival in Pok Fu Lam Village and Aberdeen.
At 7pm, the first eye-dotting ceremony for a large fire dragon and two small fire dragons will be held at the Pok Fu Lam Village, followed by a parade around the village.
At 8.15 pm in Aberdeen another eye-dotting ceremony for five small fire dragons will be held at Island Road Government Primary School on Tsung Man Street before joining a street parade around Aberdeen.
At about 10pm, the two groups of fire dragons will meet and dance around Wah Fu Estate, Pok Fu Lam, depicting the scene known as the "Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon".
All eight fire dragons will dance in circles twice before proceeding to Waterfall Bay Park, where they will dive into the sea to symbolise the legendary dragons' return to the sea.
According to tradition the villagers believe that the fire dragon dance can help to drive away misfortune and bring unity. For more details on the festival, please visit the website: www.travelsouth.hk/en.
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The "Hong Kong Caring Family Selection 2013" award presentation ceremony will be held in the afternoon on September 20 at Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre.
Jointly organised by the Home Affairs Department and Radio Television Hong Kong's Putonghua Channel, and co-organised by the Social Welfare Department, the ceremony recognises the contributions to society made by families of new immigrants from the Mainland.
Five outstanding families will receive their awards at the ceremony - a trophy and a cash coupon of $5,000 each. They have been selected by a panel for their efforts in achieving family harmony, serving the community, and successful integration into society. Videos of the winning families will also be shown at the ceremony.
The selection criteria focused on families of Hong Kong residents which included at least one family member who had moved to Hong Kong from the Mainland after July 1, 1997.
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To promote family-friendly employment policies and practices, the Family Council will launch the 2013/14 Family-Friendly Employers Award Scheme on September 18 at the Central Government Offices, Tamar. The Award Scheme is held every two years.
The Award Scheme aims to recognise employers who respect the spirit of family-friendliness, and have put in place measures to raise awareness in the community of the importance of core family values, and have fostered a pro-family culture and environment.
Companies and organisations registered in Hong Kong are welcome to apply. Companies with 100 or more employees in Hong Kong can apply under the Corporations Category while those with less than 100 employees can apply under the Small and Medium Enterprises Category. Non-governmental organisations and social enterprises can apply under the Organisations Category.
The deadlines for nominations and applications are December 17, 2013 and January 17, 2014 respectively. For enquiries, please call 3583 4311.
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An ensemble of 10 musicians from the group "CCC & Music Friends" would like to invite residents in the Yau Tsim Mong area to their concerts titled "Sounds of Silk and Bamboo - A Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration".
In addition to some popular Chinese classical music including Ren Guang's "Beautiful Clouds Chasing the Moon", the ensemble will perform the Hong Kong premiere of the "Song of Welcome", recently written by Mainland composer Mr Gu Guanren.
The first of three concerts will be held on September 18, at 7.30pm, at the Urban Renewal Resources Centre. The second and third concerts will be held at the Mong Kok Community Hall on September 20, at 5pm and 7.30pm respectively.
Free admission tickets can be obtained at Urban Renewal Resource Centre, 6 Fuk Tsun Street, Tai Kok Tsui, on a first-come, first-served basis. For enquiries, please call 6795 0101.
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A total of 43 car models made from discarded and used materials will be on display at an exhibition at the Black Box Theatre, Kwai Tsing Theatre, from September 17 to 19.
The models are entrants in the Model Design Competition organised by the Po Leung Kuk Mrs Tam Wah Ching Kindergarten, which aims to raise public awareness of reducing waste and promote a low carbon lifestyle.
Under the theme "Land Transports", car models in the competition are made from waste materials such as carton boxes, plastic bottles, tin cans and compact discs.
Awards will be presented to the winners at the opening ceremony on September 17 afternoon. Admission is free.
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Fourteen teams vying for the top three titles of the Dancing for Hong Kong - Joint School Dance Competition 2013 will compete in the final at Maritime Square, 33 Tsing King Road, Tsing Yi, on September 22, from 4pm to 6pm. All are welcome to enjoy the dance performances.
Organised by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG), the competition is a Co-create Hong Kong programme.
The champion and two runners-up will each receive a trophy and cash prizes from $2,000 to $5,000. The competing teams will also have the chance to win the Best Costume Award and the Best Style Award.
The HKFYG has also organised online voting for videos of 18 groups of young people who danced on the streets of the 18 districts during August.
The public can cast their votes for the best dance group at: m21.hk/cocreatehk/dance_vote.php. The group that receives the greatest number of votes will win the Popularity Award. Online voting will close on September 22 at 11.59pm.
People who have voted for the winning team will have a chance to win one of 10 coupons each worth $300.
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All these events support the "Hong Kong: Our Home" public participation campaign, which aims to inject positive energy into society, foster social cohesion and promote care, mutual help and solidarity in the community.
More than 220 Partner Organisations have so far pledged support for the Campaign.
Altogether, the Government and Partner Organisations are organising more than 1,000 events/activities under the four themes of the Campaign from the end of April to the end of December this year.
Full details of the Campaign can be found on the website www.hkourhome.gov.hk.
Ends/Sunday, September 15, 2013
Issued at HKT 11:00
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