[Sponsored] As part of the theme “Open Mind and Open Space,” West Kowloon Cultural District‘s regular arts event – Freespace Happening – presents workshops from “a nice place to”, in collaboration with Go Cup and Eat Well Live Well for “Open Picnic: Eat Well.”
For those who want to get creative, handicraft workshops on making Native American-inspired dreamcatchers and thumb pianos from recycled materials are set to take place this Sunday at West Kowloon Art Park. Each session is available from 2pm to 6pm and can hold up to 15 participants of all ages.
The workshops are inspired by the theme of sustainability, according to Ho Yin Ching and Kiu Kiu Lam, curators of “a nice place to.”
“It’s not just a problem that affects Hong Kong, but the whole world,” Lam told HKFP. “We want to encourage people to think more about how their actions affect the environment.”
Beatrice Chan, collaborator and organiser of the Eat Well Live Well campaign, told HKFP that a key focus of the workshops is educating people on sustainability-conscious food consumption. “Sustainability affects us all. If we don’t protect now, then future generations will be worse [off],” she explained.
Eat Well Live Well began six years ago in collaboration with British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s healthy eating campaign. It has since branched out to Hong Kong schools through all-year-round healthy eating programmes designed to get students thinking about what they put in their bodies.
The campaign will host four food-themed children’s games at Freespace Happening along with “a nice place to,” including an activity where participants estimate the amount of sugar in their soft drinks. “Vitasoy is a drink that we think is healthy because it’s soy but there is actually a lot of sugar in it,” Chan said. “The idea is to get children to enjoy themselves so that they can have fun while learning.”
Why not start the new year sustainably with a reusable cup from Go Cup, a project that aims to reduce the use of disposable items by encouraging users to bring their own reusable cups. Freespace Happening has partnered up with the eco-friendly group to provide reusable containers at the event.
‘Open Picnic: Eat Well’
Lam said that the open space at Freespace Happening provides a perfect opportunity to bring people together. “In Hong Kong, there aren’t a lot of outdoor spaces to sit down and eat, so we introduced the idea of an ‘Open picnic’ to encourage people to come together and have a meal,” she explained. “There are a lot of families and children that come to Freespace Happening so we hope that it will provide a good opportunity to do this.”
Freespace Happening is a regular free outdoor event that brings together a variety of performances and activities for everyone to enjoy. It has attracted over 170,000 visitors to West Kowloon between August 2015 and last March, according to organisers.
In addition, a host of international musicians are set to grace the stage at West Kowloon Art Park, including Canadian ensemble Cris Derksen Trio, local artists David Boring, Dusty Bottle, Winter Bagels and The Seekers, plus experimental jazz quintet Mo-Men-T. Don’t forget to check out solar and human kinetic energy-powered Solar Sound System, accompanied by a brand new DJ line-up.
The upcoming event will also feature WE Dance workshops and performance led by the Condors Dance Company, “Personality Readings” from the House of Hong Kong Literature, talks from the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society on the city’s best birding hotspots, a visit from the LAP Lifelong Animal Protection Charity, and many more.
Date: Sunday, January 13, 2018.
Time: 2pm-7.15pm.
Venue: West Kowloon Art Park, Tsim Sha Tsui.
Entry: Free (registration applicable to certain workshops).
Visit Freespace Happening’s website for more information.
